Nick Peron

View Original

Western Kid #14

To the Last Man!

With the end of a range war, Farley Warner had lost track of his family and believes them to be dead. Enraged by this, he vows to get revenge against those he holds responsible. He refuses to listen to reason, rushing out of the sheriffs office with guns blazing and is spotted by the Western Kid. When the sheriff tries to return fire, the Kid tries to maintain the peace by having Lightning try to take the guns out of Farley's hands. With Warner disarmed, the sheriff agrees to release him into the Kid's custody but warns Tex that he will be responsible for anything that Farley does.

The Western Kid puts up Farley in his hotel room, but in the middle of the night Warner wakes up and tires to leave. When Lightning tries to stop him, Farley kicks the dog in the face and climbs out the window. Awoken by the confrontation, the Western Kid is unable to stop Farley from getting away. He sends Lightning after Farley, and follows the dog's trail. Not far ahead at the home of homesteader Buck Hawser, Farley breaks in and confronts Buck, accusing him of starting the range war that took Warner's family away. Before Farley can shoot Buck, Lighting leaps in through a window and stops Farley. When Buck tries to shoot Farley, Lightning stops him as well. Farley then flees with the Western Kid in tow. Farley seeks out another he blames Tim Halloran, storming his house raving like a lunatic. Once again the Western Kid and Lightning are there to stop him, disarming him.

Farley suddenly stops when suddenly his wife and children come out of the house with an injured Tim Halloran. As it turns out Tim was injured during the range war, and Farley's wife and children nursed him back to health and that is why they were missing. Happily reunited with his family, Farley ends all hostilities.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

The Kid's Last Stand!

The Western Kid is ambushed by a gang of outlaws, and is forced to retreat. He tries to seek cover with a friend who lives nearby but learns that the outlaws have been intimidated to not help the Kid seek shelter. He then goes to the sheriff who also tells the Western Kid the same thing, forcing Tex to take matters into his own hands alone. Leaving the sheriff office, the Western Kid is attacked by an outlaw, but with the help of Lightning he knocks him out and takes him prisoner, riding away while the other gunslingers are unable to shoot at him for fear of striking their comrade.

The Western Kid then takes the captured outlaw out into the desert and threatens to bury him up to his neck in sand and leave him for the ants. Cracking under the pressure, the outlaw explains that Rod Tighe and Chan Boring have decided to join forces with other outlaws to eliminate him. Knowing that criminals are ultimately untrustworthy the Western Kid decides to exploit this to his own ends. He returns to town disguised as a Mexican and convinces Rod and Chan that the other was planning on taking over of the outfit once the Western Kid has been eliminated. Sure enough while the two would be leaders meet to fight, the Western Kid catches them off guard and beats them in a fight. Witnessing this defeat the outlaws decide to give up on trying to get rid of the Western Kid and flee town.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Guns at Thunder Pass!

The Western Kid and his animal friends are camping out when he sees a posse racing off to Thunder Pass, the head of the posse tells the Western Kid not to get involved as they have his friend Whisperin' Willie trapped there after he ran off after being framed for robbing a bank. The Western Kid sends Lightning ahead to find Willie the Kid and Whirlwind tries to stop the posse.

When Lightning finds Whisperin' Willie, the frightened old man accidentally shoots, giving away his position to the posse. Jock, the head of the mob insists that they kill Willie, but the Western Kid gets in the way, demanding that the people give Willie a fair trail. However, Jocko refuses to listen to reason and tries to convince the others that the Western Kid has gone outlaw.

The stand-off is suddenly ended when a freak lightning storm begins to rain down on them. A stray bolt of lighting causes an avalanche forcing the entire posse -- except Jock -- flee the falling rubble. This causes the distraction the Western Kid needs to dive at Jock and beat him into submission. Overpowered, he confesses that he robbed the bank and framed Willie for the crime. The posse, having had second thought about helping the Western Kid heard the entire confession and takes Jock into custody.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Western Kid

The Western Kid is working on a ranch when the cattle begins to stampede, breaking through the fence. The Western Kid gets onto the back of his horse Whirlwind and goes looking for the source of the stampede. The Kid ends up running into a gang of out of outlaws who shoot at him. The Kid pretends to get struck by the bullet, leaving the outlaws vulnerable to a two sided attack by both Whirlwind and Lightning. The Kid reveals that he was playing possum and demands to know what they are playing at. When one of the gang says that they were just playing around, the Kid does not believe it and soon realizes the cause for the stampede: to create a distraction for a prison break.

The Kid realizes that the men are members of Bart Homber's gang and that they are trying to break him out of prison. He forces one of the members to reveal that they were to meet with Bart at Wild Horse Mesa. When he goes up to the mesa, the Western Kid is jumped from behind by Bart Homber. However the Kid was expecting this, and Whirlwind kicks sand in Homber's face. Homber is subdued but the gunshots frighten the horses in the mesa to stampeding. However they are saved when Whirlwind rushes down and heads up the herd, beating the sire of the herd and ending the stampede. With the dangers over Homber is taken back into custody.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning