Two-Gun Kid #9
The Ghost of Roaring Valley
In Roaring Valley, Blackie Barstow and his gang are following Peg-Leg Pete in order to learn where his hidden gold mine is. Catching up to him, they sneak up and one of Blackie's men pistol whips Pete so they can force him to reveal the location of the mine later. However, Pete is hit too hard and dies. Angry, Barstow shoots the man responsible and orders his men to scour the valley searching for the gold and keep other people out of the area.
A week later, Two-Gun Kid and Rusty Randolph are riding through the area and they are suddenly shot at by one of Barstow's men. The pair seek cover until they hear a different gun being fired that stops the shooting. Going up to investigate, they find their would-be bushwacker dead, and the shooters tracks are one moccasin and a wooden peg-leg. Hearing eerie laughter, Two-Gun goes looking for the man hoping to thank him for helping them out, but finds nothing. They are soon greeted by Jeb Crandall, one of the local ranchers who explains the situation with Blackie Barstow, and that since Peg-Leg Pete's murder the area has apparently been haunted by his ghost. Crandall invites them back to his ranch, where Pete's daughter Ellen is now staying and Two-Gun offers to help deal with Blackie Barstow and his gang.
At the Crandall ranch, introductions are made, but the pleasantries are soon interrupted when Blackie and his men barge in demanding from Ellen the location of her late father's mine. Two-Gun and Rusty try to fight back but are both knocked out and Two-Gun is taken prisoner along with Ellen. As they are being led away from the cabin, suddenly Barstow's gang is attacked by the supposed ghost. This allows Two-Gun, Rusty and Ellen to escape. They then return to the ranch, where she confides to everyone that her father told her the location of his mine and that she has it memorized. That night, Two-Gun and Rusty are awoken when they hear Ellen scream. Searching the house the find no trace of her or Crandall.
Finding a trail that leads them to Barstow's gang, Two-Gun and Rusty attack and wipe out the entire gang. However, the apparent ghost of Ellen's father rides in and snatches her up. Two-Gun levels his gun and fires, hitting the "ghost" who reveals himself to be Jeb Crandall, who admits that he was also attempting to learn the location of the mine and claim it for himself. Before he can shoot Two-Gun, he is trampled to death by Cyclone. In the aftermath of the battle, Two-Gun and Ellen get a good idea of how close everyone was to finding the mine when Rusty accidentally trips over it.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Rusty Randolph
Cyclone
The Kid Turns Killer!
Two-Gun Kid and Rusty Randolph have accepted an invitation to the ranch owned by Rusty's uncle Frank. They arrive just as Frank's ranch hands are in the middle of a gunfight with a gang led by Shark Storm. Two-Gun and Rusty lend a hand and the battle rages on into the night. During the fighting, Two-Gun's head is creased by a bullet and he falls off Cyclone and passes out. The battle soon ends and Frank leads Rusty back to his ranch, telling the boy that Two-Gun can take care of himself.
Two-Gun wakes up later with amnesia and mounts his horse and begins riding out to find help. He runs into Shark Storm's gang, who try to gun him down, but even though he does not remember who he is, the Kid still has lightning fast reflexes. Shark orders his men to stand down when he realizes what is going on and allows Two-Gun to life. The next morning, the Kid wakes up in different clothing and even more confused than ever. Shark Storm convinces Two-Gun that he is really an outlaw named Killer Karns and that they are out to kill Fred Sutton. When some of Shark's men protest to this risky plan, Shark convinces "Killer Karns" to gun them down.
Shark then convinces "Karns" to go down to the Sutton ranch and gun down Frank and everyone there. The Kid complies, and is admitted onto the property and is welcomed until he begins opening fire on the ranch hands. Quickly, Rusty strikes Two-Gun over the head with a chair restoring his memory. Realizing what happened, the Kid vows to get revenge against Shark Storm. Riding back up to Storm's camp and pretending to still believe that he is Killer Karns, Two-Gun gets close enough to begin gunning down Shark's men. The Kid is soon joined by Frank and his ranch hands who begin wiping out the gang. Shark tries to make a run for it, jumping his horse over a large gulch. Following after him, Two-Gun also easily makes the jump on Cyclone and then guns down Shark.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Rusty Randolph
Cyclone
The Man Behind the Mask!
Matthew Masters is returning from a house call when he notices the sheriff putting up a wanted poster for an outlaw named Tod Sultan who has been seen in the area. Going into his office, Masters is held at gunpoint by Sultan, who had been wounded by the sheriff earlier that day and needs medical attention. Sultan forces Masters to treat his wound and then knocks the doctor out. Snooping around the office, Sultan finds Matthew's Black Rider costume, learning the heroes double identity.
Sultan then puts on the costume and uses it for his own ends. He exist the doctors office and then guns down the sheriff before fleeing town, leaving the locals to blame the Black Rider for the killing. While fleeing Leadville, Sultan runs into Marie and Bobby Lathrop. Recognizing that their father is a wealthy cattleman, the phony Black Rider takes Marie hostage and tells Bobby to go to town and tell his father that there is a $10,000 ransom to get Marie back. Bobby instead rides to Matthew Masters' doctors office and finds Masters just coming around. Bobby frees Matthew who rides out to confront Sultan and clear his name.
Riding out to the meeting place, Matthew hides in the bushes and manages to lasso Sultan and drag him away. Masters, then forces Sultan to give back to the costume. However as Masters is changing into his Black Rider costume, Sultan tries to escape by riding on Satan. However the horse refuses the stranger, bucking him off and sending him falling off a cliff to his death. With Sultan dead, and the Black Rider's name cleared, the hero rides off before Bobby and a posse can arrive.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider
Bobby Lathrop
Marie Lathrop
Satan
Trapped on the Train of Terror!
Two-Gun Kid and Rusty Randolf are riding into the railtown of Argo and find the people there unwelcome, thinking that the pair are members of Faro's gang. Before things get violent, Faro's men come and rescue Two-Gun and Rusty, as they are mistaken by two hired outlaws that Faro was seeking to employ: The Killer Kid and Poison Palmer. Taken to meet Faro, they learn that he intends to stop the trains from coming into Argo in order to force people to buy from his shop and bilk them with gambling, in order to do so they plan on blowing up the rail bridge.
As this plan is being hashed out, the real Killer Kid and Poison Palmer arrive exposing the impostors. Two-Gun begins fighting off the men, gunning down the Killer Kid, while Rusty jumps out the window and brings both of their horses into the saloon. The Kid and Rusty manage to escape and rush to the railroad in order to stop the train from riding over the blasted bridge. Rushing out on Cyclone, the horse manages to catch up to the engine, shooting down members of Faro's gang who have secured the train and are trying to run it off the rails. The Kid then manages to stop the train just inches away from the destroyed rail bridge.
Two-Gun Kid then assists the sheriff and his posse in tracking down and gunning Faro and his men before leaving town.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Rusty Randolph
Cyclone
When a Man Has Faith
Jem Hartley is the local drunk and he is refused service at the Frontier Saloon because he has no money. However a local gambler named Ace offers to buy him a drink, but then throws it in his face and throws the drunk out. As he leaves Hartley vows to kill Ace for the insult. Hearing this threat is the Shuffler, and Dawson, Ace's partners who are looking to cut Ace out of their gambling enterprise. Soon they begin plotting to murder Ace and frame Jem for the killing. Meanwhile, Jem Hartley returns home and inform his son that he is a washed out drunk, but his son refuses to believe this, as he still considers his father to be a brave and strong man. While back in Red Dog, Dawson corners Ace in the back alley of the Frontier and shoots him dead. The Shuffler then goes out for "fresh air" and "discovers" Ace's body, and goes to tell sheriff Blaze Carson.
Investigating the crime scene, Blaze is told about how Jem Hartley had threatened Ace earlier in the night, and the Shuffler accuses him of killing Ace. The Shuffler warns Blaze to do his job before others do it for him, angering the law man to who then warns the Shuffler not tell him how to do his job. Arriving at the Hartley shack, Blaze runs into Jem's son and assures the boy that his father will be all right. When questioning Jem he informs him that Ace was claimed to have been shot with three .44 rounds and asks to see Hartley's gun. Looking at the pistol he finds three empty chambers. Jem tries to plead his innocence and gives up, allowing himself to be put under arrest. Taking Jem back to Red Dog, Carson finds that he Shuffler has gathered a mob to deal with Jem and holds them back with gunfire.
Inside his office, Blaze finds the doctor who has completed his autopsy on Ace's body. He informs Blaze that he cannot tell the calibre of the bullets that killed Ace, because the shooter was close enough that the bullets went clean through Ace's body and into a nearby wall where they were flattened beyond identification. Blaze realizes that he Shuffler and Dawson knew the type of gun because they killed Ace themselves. With the lynch mob approaching the sheriff’s office, Doc, Blaze and Jem use their guns to keep the mob at bay. Jem accuses Dawson of framing him and attacks. Jem's fighting is so fierce that Dawson relents and confesses to the whole thing, landing him and the Shuffler in prison. In the aftermath, Jem decides to take a clean slate in his life and quit drinking.
Recurring Characters
Blaze Carson
The Marshall Who Lived Again!
Two-Gun Kid and Rusty ride into the town of Wolf Creek where Two-Gun hopes that Rusty will focus on his studying. The two become interested in the local Marshall, Keene Saber a tough as nails lawman who refuses to stand down. Not far away at the edge of saloon row, Keene is out with is girl Sally, who wishes that he would not be so cold. Saber refuses as it is part of his job. He is suddenly attacked by men working for an outlaw named Slink, and guns them down. Keene then pays a visit to Slink and orders him to leave town within 24 hours or be shot. Slink offers the same ultimatum and the two agree to see who makes it out of the challenge alive. After hearing this Sally is worried that Keene is getting into more danger than he can handle.
Having heard that the Two-Gun Kid is in town, Sally pays him a visit and asks him to help save Keene from getting shot. The Kid tells her that Saber can look after himself, and soon they are greeted by Keene who scolds Sally for doing this behind his back. As they argue, they are unaware that one of Slink's men is watching through a window and takes a shot at Keene. Two-Gun shoots the gunman dead and they pull Keene into the bed. Keene tells Two-Gun to not let Slink and his men know that he is dead or they will blow the town wide open and urges the Kid to get soldiers from Frawley Station and inform his brother back east that... and then he dies.
Two-Gun rides for Frawley Station and along the way comes across a stage coach being attacked by Slink's men. Two-Gun attacks sending the outlaws packing and checks to see if the driver is okay. He learns that the lone passenger is none other than Keene's twin brother Sam Saber. Two-Gun then comes up with a plan to deal with Slink and his men without getting the military involved.
Sneaking Sam back into town, Two-Gun convinces him to dress up like Keene and act in his place. There is but one hitch in this plan: Sam turns out to be a pacifist who refuses to use a gun. The Kid hopes that Sam can bluff Slink and his gang out of town. When the 24 hour period elapses, Sam confronts Slink and his gang in his brothers place. When they threaten Sally, Sam finds the inner courage to draw and out shoot Slink and his gang, killing Slink and saving Sally. In the aftermath, Sam decides to remain the Marshall of Wolf Creek, and Sally has found that she can marry this man who has all the qualities that his twin brother lacked.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Rusty Randolph
Cyclone
