Nick Peron

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Western Kid #5

Stampede of the Longhorns!

The Western Kid, his horse Whirlwind and dog Lightning come pass by the old man Hasting's spread and witness the elderly crippled and his family being pressured by their ranch hand, Bart Carter, to give him half the profits from the sale of cattle he has been hired to move. Carter has also demanded that Hasting allow him to marry his granddaughter Marcia. Despite the fact that she loves Pete Lane, Marcia is willing to go through with the deal in order to save her father from losing money on his cattle. With Hastings being forced to agree to the deal, the Western Kid tells the old man that he will try to do something to get the old man out of his situation, however Carter warns his men to be vigilant as he suspects that Tex Dawson will try something.

Tex first rides over to Pete Lane's home and tells him to go and keep an eye on Marcia while he handles the situation. As the Kid rides off he suspects that greedy Bart Carter will try to find a way to claim all the profits from the sale of cattle and will attempt to change the branding on the cattle to his own. To try and catch him in this act, the Western Kid attempts to start a stampede of the longhorns, but is knocked out by Carter and his men. When Tex comes around he finds himself and Whirlwind tied up and Lightning missing, presumed dead in the stampede. However, Lightning survived and while Carter and his men prepare to re-brand one of the cattle, Lightning attacks while Whirlwind chews through his master's bonds. He then makes short work of Carter and his men, turn them over to the authorities and sells the cattle for Hasting. He then returns to the Hasting's ranch with the full amount of money. While Mr. Hasting is happy to have his money, Marcia in turn agrees to marry Pete Lane.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Western Kid

Tex Dawson and his animal friends come across a range war going on between Bud Wayne and Jake Turner, disputing over the border between their land. Tex tries to stop the shooting. However he is forced to come to the aid of Lana Turner, Jake's daughter when she runs out into the middle of the gun battle to try and stop it. When Tex takes Lana to Bud Wayne, Bud decides to take her hostage in order to force Jake and his men to stand down. Not liking this, the Western Kid flees with Lana and takes her to safety.

There, Tex stops a failed attempt to jump him by Cal Wayne, Bud's son. He learns that both Cal and Lana are in love with each other. Realizing that this is a solution to the land problem, Tex convinces Cal and Lana to agree to marry each other. He sends Cal and Lana up to the ongoing battle. When Bud sees his son with Lana he orders his men to stand down and Tex goes crashing into the Turner home and subdues the shooters inside and forces them to look out the window.

Thinking this is some kind of trick, Bud attempts to start shooting again but is subdued by Lightning. Both Bud and Jake are then forced to go outside and observe how their children are in love with each other. Realizing the errors of their ways, the Waynes and Turners make a truce, and agree to allow Cal and Lana to marry, unifying their families and ending the land dispute.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Land of the Lawless

The Western Kid is riding through the badlands when he is confronted by an outlaw who orders him out of the region. Finding this suspicious the Kid pretends to flee, planning to come back and see what the wanted man is up to. The man reports back to his boss, Verne Carter who is suspicious that the Western Kid may be onto the fact that they recently robbed a stage. She decides to take the Kid as a hostage so that they can slip out of the state. However, during a private meeting Verne's minions believe that she has grown soft and begin plotting taking over.

However, by this time Tex Dawson and his animal pals have doubled back and surround the outlaws and attack. Despite gaining the upper hand in the fight, Tex is forced to stand down when Verne gets the drop on him. Tex, his dog Lightning and horse Whirlwind are all tied up. However as they bide their time, Lightning chews through his bonds and reveals this to Tex after dark. He then orders Lightning to free Whirlwind while he works at his own bonds and then they all pretend to still be tied up, waiting to strike at the right time. Suddenly, Verne arrives to free Tex, having had a change of heart and suspecting that her minions might soon turn on her.

However, Verne's minions try to make their attack, but Tex fights back. Out numbered, Tex and Verne mount on Whirlwind and make a break for it. They manage to escape the outlaws by jumping over a gorge, but Verne realizes that they left the loot behind. But is put back at ease when Tex shows her that Lightning recovered the stolen money. They then head back into town to alert the law about Verne's men, Tex assuring that the law will go easy on her for surrendering and returning the stolen loot.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning