Vultures of the Rio Grande!

While riding out in the Texas wastelands, the Black Rider comes across some men buried up to their necks in the ground with honey smothered all over them and crawling with ants. He digs the men out, saving their lives. He learns that one of them is Marshal Drews of El Paso. Drews explains that they were on the trail of some gold coin counterfeiters who have been making fake coins out of lead. The gang had got the drop on them and left them to be eaten alive by the desert ants. Before Drews can tell the Black Rider the identity of the gangs leader, some of the gang members ambush them and shoots Drews and his partner dead. The Black Rider guns down the masked outlaws. Searching their bodies he finds letters of employment at the Grayson Ranch in Oak Glen. The Black Rider buries all the dead and then heads into Oak Glen to try and find the leader of the gang and bring him to justice.

He brings one of the dead outlaws to the sheriff and Tom and Jed Grayson are called in to identify the body. Jed recognizes the man as one his recently hired ranch hands. When Jed asks the Black Rider to help in the investigation for the gold counterfeiting he declines telling them that he is just passing through. When they mention that some of their men are sick, the Black Rider tells him that there is a doctor riding into the area that he can fetch for them.

The Black Rider leaves town and changes into his alter-ego of Matthew Masters, frontier doctor and returns to town intent on investigating the Grayson's connection to the outlaws in the area. However, when he arrives on the ranch he learns that the sick men have died and that his services are no longer needed. He tells them to send the bodies into town so that he can perform autopsies on them. Masters decides to look around the ranch land and comes across a mine on the property and is confronted by the guard who take him back to the ranch house. There, Masters explains that the men who died were poisoned, suspecting that the intent was to replace them with outlaws who are part of the counterfeiting operation and proves it when he examines one of the bodies. Tom then tells Masters to go and fetch the sheriff for him.

However, as Masters rides off he is attacked by the outlaws and flees for cover. He then changes back into the Black Rider and fights back, easily out gunning the outlaws and taking them prisoner. They tell the Black Rider that the leader of the gang is Atkins the man who owns the local livery stable and they are forced to bring the masked hero there. However, after the Black Rider gets the drop and rounds up everyone in the livery stable, he learns from Atkins that Jed Grayson is really the mastermind behind the whole operation.

When the Black Rider arrives at the Grayson ranch he bursts in as Tom Grayson is tying up Jed, revealing that he is the mastermind behind the operation. The Black Rider gets the drop on him and forces him to show him the operation where they make their fake coins. He takes them to the lead mine that is on the property, explaining that he uses the lead ore to make his phony money. Some of Grayson's men try to get the drop on the Black Rider but he manages to out gun them and then turns Tom Grayson over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

• Black Rider

• Satan

The Trail of the Apache Kid?

Wild Will Harridge has called a meeting with Captain Bill Gregory at Fort Madison and accuses the Apache Kid of robbing the Overland Express of it's gold. Attending the meeting is Aloysius Kare who finds this mighty interesting (as he is secretly the Apache Kid) and asks to tag along on the manhunt for his alter-ego. Harrington refuses Kare's offer of aid, telling them that he intends to go after the Apache Kid alone and leaves. When Wild Will leaves, Aloysius and Bill discuss the obvious frame job, and Kare vows to get to the bottom of it and races off to try and clear his name.

Meanwhile, the news reaches both the local town and the nearby Apache village. While Red Hawk and his people refuse to believe that the Apache Kid would rob the coach, the people in town are convinced that the Apache Kid has betrayed them and organizes a posse to go out and catch him, heading toward the Apache village to apprehend him. Meanwhile, Aloysius Kare changes back into the Apache Kid and tracks down Wild Will Harrington. He gets the drop on Harrington and rips off his buckskin jacket revealing Apache war paint. The Kid suddenly realizes that it was Harrington who was responsible for the frame job.

Before the Kid can take Harrington into town to face justice they both hear gunshots coming from the Apache village. The Kid forces Harrington to accompany him to stop the fight. When they arrive, Harrington tries to break free and warn the men that the Apache Kid is coming, forgetting that he is still in his Apache Kid disguise. When he raises the posse's attention they think that he is the Apache Kid and gun him down. With the impostor dead, the Apache Kid appears before them and explains to everyone what happened, shortly thereafter Bill Gregory and the army arrive and take the posse back home with peace reestablished.

Recurring Characters

• Apache Kid

• Captain Bill Gregory

• Apaches

  • Red Hawk

  • White Swan

• Nightwind

Gun Siege!

The Gunhawk is riding toward the town of Arroya when he is stopped by some masked bandits who refuse to let him ride into town until their gang finishes blasting their leader Yuma Jack out of the prison. When they succeed the gang flees, but the Gunhawk shoots down the men who ambushed him. Gunhawk is soon greeted by the sheriff who informs him of the breakout, Red decides to hunt down Yuma Jake and his gang and bring them to justice.

He rides into the town of Santa Elena where he finds that the gang had just recently left after they liberated Notch Osier out of the local jail. The Gunhawk follows after the gang for three long weeks, always a step behind but he finally catches up with them as they are riding into the town of Durango. He meets up with a group of soldiers who are heading to Durango. He learns that Yuma Jake and his men have bottled themselves up in the town.

The Gunhawk offers to deal with the problem and rides in alone, and easily blasts through their defenses and guns down the sentries allowing the army to ride in and round up the rest of the gang.

Recurring Characters

• Gunhawk

• Blaze