Wild Western #4

Bushwacking Bullets for Colt-Quick Gunhawk!

Kid Colt rides into the border town of El Stenago, Texas where there is a commotion going on. He learns that one of the military men from nearby fort is apparently drunk on tequila and challenging someone knife fight with him with a handkerchief between both men's teeth. Kid Colt assumes the man is bluffing and takes up his challenge. However before the knife fight can star the soldier pulls away and tells the Kid that he is the type of man he is looking for and asks to meet him out back of the local hotel in ten minutes.

Kid Colt follows up on this rendezvous and is brought to the local commanding officer. He tells Kid Colt that he needs a man to work on their current situation: Some local miners in the area are about to bring out a shipment of gold, but some local thieves stole military uniforms and guns and there is fear that they will use them to fool the miners into turning over the gold and steal it. When the commanding officer shows Kid Colt the note sent by the apparent leader of the gang, Kid Colt! Curious who is using his reputation Kid Colt takes the job and does not give his real name. When Colt walks out someone tires to take a shot at him but Kid Colt shoots him dead. He learns from the crowd that gathers that he is a man named Spade who works for Smiley Sinclair who owns most of the town. Kid Colt decides to pay Sinclair a visit at the saloon that he owns. As he arrives he shows an old man getting tossed out of the bouncer, Ringo, also a local boxer. Kid Colt enters the saloon and picks a fight with Ringo and easily knocks him out.

Seeing this Smiley Sinclair orders his men to eliminate Kid Colt, but the Colt is a faster draw and easily guns them all down. Impressed, Sinclair invited Colt up to his office and offers him a job to box in the boxing match now that Ringo is dead. Kid Colt takes the job and as he walks out he accidentally kicks over Sinclair's waste basket revealing a number of newspaper clippings disposed inside. Realizing who the thief of the uniforms are, Kid Colt finds them being loaded up in one of Sinclair's wagons. Kid Colt hops on his horse Steel and forces the wagon to crash, smashing open the crates and revealing to the townspeople at the Sinclair stole them. Kid Colt then rides over to the army base and informs them what he has learned and leads them to an attack on Sinclair's saloon. They easily kill or capture Sinclair's entire gang. When the soldier wonders where their "leader" Kid Colt was, Colt explains that he was framed for being involved in the gang. When the soldier is confused Colt tosses him a wanted poster for his arrest and rides off.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Steel

Hot Lead for Horse Thieves!

At the outskirts of a western town a hanging is about to take place and a man named Blackie Donovan demands that he be strung up as soon as possible. Suddenly the noose around the man to be hanged is shot loose and Tex Taylor (disguising his face with a bandanna) keeps the men at bay and saves the man who is about to be hanged, believing that the man deserves a fair trial. Escaping the lynch mob, Tex Taylor questions the man. He introduces himself as Clem Williams. He explains that he was accused of horse rustling after buying a horse from Blackie Donovan that turned out to have been stolen. However, when he tried to plead his case Donovan did not corroborate his story and agitated the lynch mob instead.

Believing Clem, Tex agrees to try and clear his name. They ride out to Blackie Donovan's ranch. However as they explore the ranch Tex steps on a branch attracting ranch hands to their location. The pair manage to escape and Tex begins formulating a plan to catch Blackie Donovan in a trap. The next day Tex pays a visit to Blackie Donovan and purchases a horse from him and insists on a bill of sale despite Donovan's reluctance to provide one by paying double for the horse. As Tex rides the horse out of Donovan's stable a man comes up and accuses Tex of stealing the horse. When Tex tries to explain to the gathering mob that he bought it from Donovan, Donovan denies it, but Tex provides the bill of sale.

When Blackie and his men try to gun down Tex Morgan, he easily disarms them. However the mob is not convinced that Tex didn't steal the horse until the man accusing him removes his disguise and reveals himself as Clem Williams. Tex and Clem then explain the whole plot and Blackie Donovan is arrested. With Clem's name cleared, Tex rides out of town.

Recurring Characters

• Tex Taylor

• Fury

Colt Merchants and Bucking Broncs

Tex Morgan and Lobo ride into a town that is holding a rodeo where the grand prize is $1000. Tex decides to sign up and goes into the local saloon to try and learn more. He is accosted by a man named Ace Stevens who tells him not to join up the rodeo and a fight starts. However before Ace can shoot Tex in the back Lobo disarms Ace with his rifle. Tex and Lobo then make short work and Tex promises Ace that he will be in the rodeo no matter what and leaves. Ace begins plotting to get even with Tex Morgan.

As the pair are riding across town they spot a boy riding a bucking bronco and are impressed. They soon learn the boy is Hank Burns, grandson of Arizona Burns a retired rodeo rider. They also learn that Hank is practising for the rodeo so he can use the money to get his sister a much needed surgery to make her walk again. Tex decides to stick around and watch over Hank to insure he is kept safe from Ace Stevens, even though Hank is not scared of him. They stay over and Hank hears the horses getting restless outside and goes out to check. He is wounded by a bullet and the shooters flee the scene before Tex and Lobo can stop him. With Hank unable to ride in the rodeo, Tex agrees to take his place and win the money for Sue.

During the rodeo Tex Morgan takes a bronco while Ace hires a man to shoot Tex dead while he rides. However before the shooter can do his dirty deed, Arizona Burns gets the drop on him. When Ace rides his horse he is thrown off easily and loses the rodeo. When Tex collects the money Ace then tries to rob him, but Tex is faster at the draw and shoots Ace dead. When Tex delivers the money to the Burns family, Sue thanks him with a kiss before he and Lobo ride out of town.

Recurring Characters

• Tex Morgan

• Lobo

• Lightning

• Cloud

Six-Shooter Schoolmarm!

Arizona Annie is bucking a bronco for her friends to watch one day when she is approached by approached by the principal of the school house. He informs her that the old teacher Miss Tisher got married and left town and that her replacement is not expected until later and asks her if she can substitute until the new teacher arrives. Annie has her reservations but agrees to take the job. Slim Smith and his friends find this hilarious much to Annie's chagrin.

When Annie shows up at the school house the children are running a riot and tries to calm them down. When one of the boys tries to talk smart to her she shoots out his suspenders and begins teaching the class a math lesson. As Annie teaches her class a pair of bank robbers flee from the law and eventually arrive at the schoolhouse after classes and decide to hide out there for the night. They get the drop on Annie and thinking she is nothing more than a schoolmarm get the drop on her and tie her up. As they count out their loot Annie breaks free from her bonds and easily rounds them up. As she begins to drag them to the sheriff’s office a third man arrives at the scene, Annie lassos him up as well and brings him down to the jail house.

However when Annie gets there she learns that she accidentally roped up the new teacher as well by mistake and releases him. The next day Annie attends classes where the teacher tries to explain to his class that a woman's place is in the home.

Recurring Characters

• Arizona Annie

• Slim Smith

Gun-Smoke Over Vulture Valley!

Two-Gun Kid rides his horse Cyclone into Vulture Valley where he is confronted by a young man who demands that he turn over his horse. When the boy draws Two-Gun manages to shoot he gun out of the lads hand. Before he can explain what happens Sheriff Floyd Manders and his posse catch up and rounds them both up and demands to know the secret passage through Balancing Rock Plateau. When the young man refuses to divulge this information both he and Two-Gun are tossed in the jug.

In jail Two-Gun demands an explanation as to what he has walked into the middle of. The young man introduces himself as Ned Kincaid. He explains that 20 years ago his father, fresh from the Civil War, rode into town. Being invited onto the Anderson ranch by its owner he fell in love with Susan Anderson and the two began seeing each other. Susan took Ned's father to Balancing Rock Plateau which she explained would fall into the valley one day sealing the ranch off from the outside world. When they were to be married the couple went into town and informed Floyd Manders that Susan would not be seeing him any more earning them his scorn. Sometime later two hard cases rode into town and tried to gun down Ned's father, who killed them instead. Susan's father did not want his daughter to marry a "gunhawk" and kicked him off the ranch, Kincaid listened and started his own ranch. Meanwhile, Floyd Manders used this opportunity to try and court Susan again.

Floyd then spotted Kincaid building a dam and hoped to use this to spin it into another point of contention against Anderson but he was caught by Kincaid who warned him against trespassing or courting Susan and threatened to kill him. While Floyd plotted to turn the entire town against Kincaid, Kincaid and Susan sneaked away and eloped. While this happened Manders succeeded in convincing Kincaid and the towns people to go after Kincaid, especially after Anderson learned his daughter eloped with him. Attacking Kincaid's ranch, he and Susan were forced to flee and knocked down the rock at Hanging Plateau so that they could get away and not be pursued, trapping them in the valley where they had their son Ned and raised him in peace. Ned explained when he grew up his father found a path out of the valley and allowed his son to go out into the world and find his own place.

Hoping to help free Ned, Two-Gun then started a fire in their bunk drawing help. The pair tried to escape but Ned was recaptured. Seeking aid to rescue Ned, the Kid followed Ned's backtrail along the secret into the valley. He found old man Kincaid and his wife living off the land and explained the situation, Kincaid agreed to help rescue his son from Floyd Manders and his mob. Finding Floyd and his posse whipping the boy to try and learn the location of the path, Two-Gun and Kincaid cause a distraction with TNT and rescue Ned. They rush back to the secret path and Kincaid knocks out his son and uses TNT to blast the path closed hoping his son can find his own way in the new world and renew his life of peace and safety away from Manders. Two-Gun takes the TNT and does the honours himself, waiting for Floyd and his men to ride up their back trail and sets off the blast burying them in an avalanche. Although the path is closed off for good Ned vows to try and find a new way home and parts company from Two-Gun, thanking him for his help.

Recurring Characters

• Two-Gun Kid

• Cyclone