Nick Peron

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Western Kid #9

Outlaw Brand!

The Western Kid has been framed for horse rustling with wanted posters offering a ward for his captured dead or alive. As he and his animal pals Whirlwind and Lightning a posse of men start gunning for him. The Kid and Lightning split up to avoid the shots and while Lightning keeps the gunmen distracted, Tex manages to rope them up. He demands answers and learns that a woman named Lilly Belle has accused him of rustling the horses from her ranch. The Kid then lets the men free and heads toward the Belle ranch to question her about her accusations.

Mark, one of the men attempting to capture the Western Kid, gets to Belle first and warns her that the Western Kid is coming. She responds by having armed men patrolling her property. However the Western Kid and Lightning manage to get the drop on Mark and Belle. While Lightning jumps Belle, the Kid recognizes who she really is and demands that she confesses that she was framing him. Belle instead has her men send her horses stampeding toward him, but the Kid manages to get away thanks to whirlwind rushing in to save his master. Caught in the path of the horses, "Lilly Belle" confesses that she is really the rustler Lulu Carter and that she framed the Western Kid.

The Kid saves her life and when he turns her over to the authorities, he decides not to say anything about Mark helping her, giving him a second chance to live a straight life.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Lone-Star Stallion!

Tex Dawson, the Western Kid, pays his friend the sheriff a visit and lets his son Will pet his horse Whirlwind. However the sheriff's wife Lora calls her son back in as she is afraid of Lone-Star Stallions ever since one killed by one years earlier and has forbade Will from owning one despite his interest in them. The sheriff then asks the Western Kid help convince his son that Lone-Star Stallion's are trouble even though Whirlwind is a model horse. Unknown to the two men, a pair of outlaws are lurking around the property seeking to get revenge against the sheriff for sending them to jail and are biding their time to attack after the Western Kid leaves.

Meanwhile, the Western Kid has Whirlwind pretend to go wild in front of Will to convince the boy that Lone-Stars are not the ideal pet that he makes them out to be and pretends to ride off with his horse to get it replaced. With the Kid gone, the two outlaws begin shooting at the sheriff, sending his family fleeing into their home. A stay bullet hits a oil drum causing an explosion. The blast knocks the sheriff clear from their bullets, but the cabin catches on fire trapping Lora and Will inside.

Unable to help his family due to the outlaws, the sheriff is relieves when the Western Kid returns and with the help of Whirlwind rescues Lora and Will. With the sheriff's family safe, the Western Kid and Lightning round up the outlaws. In the aftermath of the ambush, Lorna realizes she thought wrong about Lone-Star Stallions and tells Will that he can now get one.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

The Man Who Hated Guns!

Spotting some outlaws attempting to rob a stagecoach the Western Kid rides to its aid when the man riding shotgun freezes. The Kid drives the outlaws away, but manages to wound one and take him prisoner. Back in town, with the outlaw Brad Halloway locked up, he learns that Walt -- the gun-rider who froze up -- was let go even though he needs the money. The Kid tells the sheriff not to fire him just yet and seeks Walt out. He catches up with Walt and his girl Kay, and overhears Walt tell her that he has decided never to use a gun again because he has gotten tired of seeing people getting hurt by them.

The Kid then returns to the sheriff's office and informs him of what the problem is. The two then come up with a plan to send Walt on another wagon run, giving Walt a shotgun loaded with blanks. However as the wagon is out on a run, the rest of Halloway's gang breaks into the jail and free him and learn about the plan the Western Kid has for Walt. Meanwhile, Walt is out on another wagon run when the stage is held up by the Western Kid wearing a mask. Walt is hesitant to act until the Kid threatens his family. This pushes Walt to use his shotgun and re-instill his sense of needing a weapon.

When the real outlaws appear to rob the stagecoach, Walt catches them by surprise when he uses his shotgun as a club to subdue them leading to their arrest. In the aftermath, the Western Kid rendezvous with the coach and Walt reveals that he figured out that the first "robber" was reall the Kid and thanks him for helping him get over his fear of guns.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning

Cry of the Coyote!

The Western Kid is passing through the badlands when he is suddenly ambushed by an elderly prospector named Pinto Pete. Pete tells the Kid to get lost as he doesn't trust anyone, but he is jumped by Lightning. The Kid orders his dog off and convinces Pete to let him hunker down and eat before continuing on. However their meal is abruptly ended when Tex realizes that Pinto is using the fire to send smoke signals. The Kid kicks out the fire and rides on ignoring Pete's warnings that there is trouble ahead.

The Western Kid and his animal pals come across a mine being raided by outlaw Quid Hartley. The Kid easily manages to subdue Quint's gang, but Quint manages to flee. At the entrance to his mine he is stopped by Pinto Pete, but Quint easily over powers him and drags him into the cave. When the Western Kid follows after him, Quint pushes Pete out hoping the Kid will shoot him. However, Lightning takes the gun out of his master's hand and rushes into the cave where he attacks Quint. Hearing howls, Pete assumes that Quint killed Lightning however the Kid knows better when they go in and find that Lightning has subdued Quint who surrenders to the Kid. The Kid then takes the outlaws off to the law, wishing Pete well with his mine.

Recurring Characters

  • Western Kid

  • Whirlwind

  • Lightning