Tex Taylor #6 — Nick Peron

Aug 22

Aug 22 Tex Taylor #6

The Man Who Ran Away!

Jed Thompson has decided that he wants to claim the land that has been long occupied by a nester named Old Man Johnson has lived and has hired two men to do it. His son Walt overhears this, and tries to convince his father not to do it, as he and Johnson used to be friends once, and that his greed had made him crazy. Jed refuses to listen, telling his son that he has worked his way up from poverty, and being helpless when Walt's mother died. He tells his son that the only thing worthwhile is money and power. Walt will not stand for it, and leaves his father’s home in disgust.

Meanwhile, at Old Man Johnson's farmhouse, the two men hired by Jed arrive and tell Johnson to pack up and leave, but Johnson refuses to do so and threatens to shoot the trespassers with his shot gun. The two men rush the old man just as Tex Taylor and Walt Thompson both arrive at the scene. The two young men help drive Johnson's attackers away, knocking them out. Walt then explains the situation to Tex and Johnson and how he has come to help stop his father from forcing Johnson from his land. When the attackers revive, Tex orders them to leave and not come back as he will be defending the property.

Not far away, the men stop and decide to take Jed's orders to do whatever it takes to drive Johnson from his land to suit their own means and decide to ride back and wipe out Johnson and anyone who stands in the way of their job. Meanwhile, Tex and Walt have decided to ride back to Jed's ranch and try to talk sense into him. Along the way they are ambushed by the men Jed had hired and Walt is shot. Tex is a faster draw than the bushwackers and guns most of them down, tying up their leader and their survivors. Checking on Walt, he finds that the boy in critical shape and vows to get his father to see that he is wrong.

After getting Walt back to the Johnson ranch and getting a doctor Tex rides to the Thompson ranch, Tex forces his way in and grabs Jed. He forced Jed to go to the Johnson ranch where he sees his son. The doctor informs him that Walt will recover and Jed finally realizes the errors of his ways and makes peace with Johnson. With the crisis over, Tex rides off into the sunset.

Recurring Characters

Tex Taylor
Alkali Ike
Fury
Jenny

Return of the Outlaws!

After a successful robbery, Cat Thomas and his gang ride to nearby Shotgun Heights, a village established by Doc Gard, a retired outlaw who founded the village for retired criminals. When they arrive a month later they meet with Doc who warns Cat Thomas and his men to keep a low profile, reminding them that his town is intended for retired criminals and he does not wish to attract the attention of the police. Thomas and his men promise to follow the rules.

However, when Doc goes out on a ride with his daughter Cary. Later Cat Thomas and his men ambush Doc when he is alone, shooting Doc through the spine. Nearby the shots are heard by Tex Taylor and Alkali Ike who decide to go and investigate. Seeing that Doc and Cary are outnumbered, they come to their aid, driving off Cat Thomas and his gang, who believe that Doc . With the gang run off, they check on Doc and find that he has been crippled. Doc is worried that Cat Thomas will take over the town and convert it into a hiding place for outlaws and bring the law down upon the retired and reformed criminals who now live there peacefully. After treating Doc's injuries at their camp, Tex and the others are visited by the sheriff who questions Doc about a recent cattle rustling that happened in nearby Eagle Valley. The sheriff warns Doc that if he cannot keep the law in his town, they will ride up and clear things out.

Tex comes up with a plan to drive out Cat Thompson and his men and reinforce Doc as the law driving force in the area. Getting the crippled Gard on his horse, they have him ride into town and help him into his home, allowing Cat Thompson's men see the seemingly okay Gard, but not revealing that he is crippled from the gunshot. When some of Cat's men storm the cabin, Tex and Ike shoot them dead and then send out a warning to Cat's other men. When some of the men ride off to their hideout to warn Cat, Tex rides after them leaving Ike and Cary to care for Doc.

Tex arrives at Cat's cabin, and begins sneaking around and hears Cat and another man plotting to cause the sheriff of Eagle Valley to start a gunfight in Shotgun Heights and while both sides are locked in bloody battle, sneak the stolen cattle to the boarder. Before Tex can act he is spotted and pistol whipped by one of Cat's men and tied up while Thomas and his men go to start their plan, leaving a single guard with Tex. When Tex revives, he whistles for Fury who tramples the guard to death and helps free Tex. Tex then gets Ike and rallies a posse to stop Thomas' gang. They are all gunned down with the help of the sheriff and a posse from Eagle Valley. In the aftermath of the battle, Tex explains the plot and recognizing the voice of the man who Cat was speaking with earlier, implicates local rancher Jeff Mason as being in cahoots with the gang.

Mason pulls his guns and keeps people away long enough to mount up and flee the scene. Tex follows after him and the trail leads him to the home of Doc Garde. There he finds that he is too late, both Garde and Mason had shot each other dead. In the aftermath of the battle, Cary decides to stay in Shotgun Valley and keep it the law abiding town that it is.

Recurring Characters

Tex Taylor
Alkali Ike
Fury
Jenny

The Final Gamble!

While doing his rounds of Red Dog, Blaze Carson stumbles upon an argument between newspaper man Will Stebbins arguing with local gambler Diamond Gamer over the need to abolish gambling in their town. Also during the altercation, Will expresses his disapproval of the fact that Diamond is also courting his daughter. Blaze is distracted when local banker Ira Stone comes and informs him that rustlers stole Old Man Lang's cattle the other night and now he does not have the money to pay his mortgage, and asks Blaze to help him evict Lang from his property according to the law. Blaze agrees to go, but asks Stone to give Lang a break, but Ira refuses to do so because of his business sense. Blaze begrudgingly agrees to go along.

After the unsavoury job, Blaze returns to town and talks to Diamond Gamer about his gambling operation. Diamond agrees with Will's standpoint that gambling is bringing many unsavoury types to Red Dog and tells him that he would not harm Stebbins because he is in love with his daughter Annie. Blaze then goes to visit Will Stebbins and they have a drink with Stebbins expensive crystal glasses. Blaze is about to tell him that he has a hunch who is bringing outlaws into town when they are suddenly interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

They go outside and see a bunch of outlaws robbing the bank. Blaze wings one of the men in the hopes of taking him prisoner while the others escape, but luck works against him when the man is knocked out when his leg is caught in his saddle and is dragged by his horse. Ira Stone is furious that Blaze was unable to stop the outlaws, and Blaze curtly tells him that he can express his dislike next election. Blaze has Stebbins put up the outlaw in his home to see if he talks while he goes after his partner. The hunt takes Blaze out of town for many days and he finds nothing. When he returns to Red Dog he finds banners announcing great news and finds that the locals are throwing a party.

Going into town to investigate, Blaze learns that Diamond Gamer made the announcement and is throwing the party but nobody knows why, so he beings looking for him. Meanwhile, Will Stebbins is meeting with the man who is responsible for bringing the outlaws into town and demands that he turn himself in or he will report the story in his paper. The mastermind behind the plot refuses and shoots Will dead to keep him silent. Later, Ira Stone joins the party and talks to Blaze Carson. When Carson expresses his concern that Diamond Gamer is not around, Ira tells him that he saw Diamond having an argument with Stebbins. Suddenly, Annie discovers her father's body.

Blaze and the party goers rush to the newspaper to find Annie and Diamond there. Ira accuses Diamond of murdering Will, saying that he saw them arguing that afternoon. Blaze catches Ira in his lie, pointing out that Ira is holding one of Will's crystal glasses in his hand, having accidentally picked it up instead of the glass he carried to the newspaper from the party. Unable to talk his way out of it, Ira pulls a gun on Blaze and is shot dead. With the caper exposed, Diamond tells Blaze that he was closing his gambling operation, hence the party, and Blaze suggests that now that they need a new banker that he take up the job.