Wild Western #23

The Renegades

An Apache named Black Lance has betrayed his people to an outlaw named Mantee by killing a hunting party in exchange for the furs they have captured. However, Mantee, betrays the Apache by knocking him out after "accidentally" dropping his pay. Mantee and his men then tie Black Lance to a stake and leave him to die. They travel a ways and come across some gold panners and gun them down in order to steal their findings as well. Their act of cold blooded murder is observed by Kid Colt, who then watches as Mantee shoots his own men dead in order to claim all the gold.

As Mantee begins gathering up the gold, Kid Colt confronts him and forces him to drop the gold. Not accepting any deals Mantee offers him, Kid Colt forces the outlaw to ride out into the desert where the hero leaves him to die in the desert. After travelling in the sweltering heat, a dehydrated Mantee comes across Black Lance who is also in dire straights due to the scorching son. Black Lance offers to show Mantee where there is water nearby if Mantee promises to cut him free.

Getting to the water, the two men hydrate themselves and agree to work together, targeting the local Apaches and settlers alike in the hopes of sparking a war between the two sides and profiting from it. They then begin raids on wagons and fur trappers, killing settlers with arrows and Apaches with bullets to make one side accuse the other. This eventually leads to a meeting between the local settlers and the Apaches. Kid Colt is in attendance and he asks those gathered to give him a few days to track down the real crooks and prove that neither site is inflaming the others.

With Kid Colt on their trail, Mantee and Black Lance climb try to climb up on a plateau to ambush the hero. Mantee gets up first and instead of helping Black Lance up, the back stabbing crook pulls his gun and shoots Black Lance dead. Kid Colt gets the drop on Mantee and as the two struggle Kid Colt lands a solid kick that sends Mantee falling to his doom.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Apaches

• Steel

War Cry

A band of Apache warriors attack the Temple farm, prompting Lance, Emilio and Red Hawk to defend the land while Zane stands back feeling useless because he is blind. After the Apaches are driven off, Zane suggests that the trio go and warn the Caine ranch as they are the next likely target for the renegades. Although Zane has had his son swear never to carry guns or shoot another man, he allows it just this once so that Lance can defend himself from the Apaches. Lance rides off to Hidden Valley to change into the Texas Kid, but along the way he comes across a dead Apache warrior and a bunch of brand new rifles strewn about the place and has a good idea of what's going on.

After changing into the Texas Kid, Lance rides over to Caine ranch where he he learns from Caine's daughter that he has gone out riding. Suddenly the ranch is attacked by the Apaches. The Texas Kid is struck in the head by a thrown war hammer and is knocked out. When he comes around he finds himself a prisoner in the Apache village along with Caine and his daughter. The Texas Kid overhears Caine ordering the Apaches to follow his orders, as it turns out he has been supplying them with guns so that they can force all the ranchers out of Caliber City so he can claim all the ranches for himself. However, the chief of the Apaches has another idea and reveals that he intends to drive the ranchers off the land so that his people can reclaim it.

Suddenly, Emilio and Red Hawk arrive with guns blaze, prompting the Texas Kid to quit playing possum and join in the fray. Out numbered they make a quick escape with Caine's daughter but are forced to leave her father behind. Chased by a war party, Texas Kid and his allies come across the ruins of an old Spanish fort that still has functional cannons. They use the cannons to wipe out the Apaches in a number of short blasts. In the aftermath Miss Caine asks about her father, but the Texas Kid figures that he is likely already dead. The young girl explains that her father was wealthy and travelled here from out east to further his greedy ends and resigned to the fact that his father is dead.

Recurring Characters

• Texas Kid

• Zane Temple

• Emilio Diaz

• Red Hawk

• Thunder

The Skull Tattoo!

Texas Ranger Cliff Macklin, Happy Hicks and Ranger scout the Arizona Kid are sent out to protect a government caravan carrying gold to Fort Benton. However they arrive just as the wagon train is under attack and rush to its aid. However they are too late to stop the attack, searching the ruins they find one survivor who cannot identify the attackers as they were all wearing masks.

They take up the wounded soldier and start heading toward the nearest doctor and soon realize that the outlaws had took the same trail as they are taking -- which puzzles them as they expected the outlaws to flee into the desert or into nearby Sand City. As they ride, the wounded soldier recalls a find detail: the leader of the masked gang had a skull tattoo on his hand.

Suddenly, they are ambushed by one of the gang members who shoots the soldier dead. The Arizona Kid is quick to draw his gun and shoots the gang member. Recovering the gold, the Rangers unmask the outlaw leader and are shocked by his striking resemblance to the Kid. They also find a wanted poster identifying him as Hank Bellew. They then quickly come up with a plan to catch the gang, with the Arizona Kid posing as Bellew in order to apprehend the leader of the gang.

Riding into Sand City, the Arizona Kid is confronted by the members of the gang who are quick to kill him for not showing up, believing that they have been double crossed. "Bellew" is saved by Jesse Stuart the owner of the local general store, who is less than impressed that he helped save the life of an "outlaw". The Kid then meets with Hank Fallon, the middle man who is to bring "Hank" to see the boss to exchange the gold.

Before going out to the rendezvous point, the Kid sends a signal to Cliff and Happy who then follow. At the meeting place, the two Rangers appear to apprehend everyone and lead begins to fly. In the cross fire, Fallon gets away but the rest of the gang is apprehended. The Arizona Kid goes after him in order to force out the name of the gang's leader, but Fallon chooses suicide instead of capture and rides his horse off a cliff.

When the Arizona Kid returns to town he is met by Jesse Stuart who expresses that he was impressed by the scout's masquerade. However, the Kid notices that Stuart has a skull tattoo on his hand and realizes that Stuart is the leader of the gang. When Stuart tries to shoot him, the Kid dodges out of the way. The bullet strikes what appears to be a pile of bricks, and after the Kid knocks Stuart out he realizes that the blocks are not bricks at all. They are actually the stolen blocks of gold, painted red to hide them in plain sight.

Recurring Characters

• Arizona Kid

• Cliff Macklin

• Happy Hicks

• Arrow