Tex Taylor #5

The Juggler of Yellow Valley!

A travelling medicine man known as the Juggler passes into Yellow Valley and the cross roads to the Three Man Mine. Shooting a rattle snake, he is happy to be coming to Yellow Valley at long last to do his long awaited work...

Meanwhile, Tex Taylor and Alkali Ike ride into town. Alkali tells Tex about how the Three Men Mine helped build Yellow Valley and that it was founded by three men: Mac Harvell, Ed Hugo, and Nate Starret. The pair enter a saloon to eat and stumble upon Mac Harvell and Nate Starrett arguing over the ownership of the mine which had since been taken over by Mac Harvell. Before things shots can be fired, Tex steps in and breaks up the fight, sending Harvell away. Tex is thanked by Nate's daughter Helen. Suddenly, the Juggler enters the room and begins hawking his juggling skills and the snake oil that he is selling. Suddenly Nate becomes frightened and quickly pulls his daughter Helen out of the saloon, sending Helen to a hotel while he returns to his ranch.

The Juggler begins putting on his act, but he soon starts a fight when he bumps into one of the staff and drops his juggling. Tex once more steps in and fights off the Juggler. The Juggler gets up and warns Taylor not to mess with him and shows that he is just as skilled with a gun as with juggling. Tex and Alkali decide to leave. While out riding, Tex is told more about the Three Men Mine: That Mac Harvell was married to Madge Summers. However, Madge soon fell in love with Nate, divorced Mac and remarried. Angry, Harvell hired an eastern lawyer who helped Mac claim complete ownership of the mine. He also explains Ed Hugo was a ruthless killer who ten years ago was determined to get Mac and Nate to kill themselves and egged on a fight in a saloon one night. Mac and Nate were only wounded but two others were killed. The sheriff then locked up Ed for life.

They are soon interrupted by Helen who has come rushing for aid after she discovered Mac Harvell's body just outside of town. They agree to help and they are soon joined by the sheriff who has a new deputy: The Juggler. The sheriff explains that Mac was killed with an arrow and suspects that Nate is the killer, since Nate had promised to use a gun to his late wife and that he was heard in the saloon stating that there is more than one way to kill a man. When Alkali scoffs at the choice of the Juggler as a deputy, there is a brief scuffle between the two which the Juggler wins. They then leave to go looking for Nate, leaving Tex and Alkali to begin their own investigation.

Searching around the pair find the Nate Starett who has been shot, but is just barely alive. They hear his last words which Tex hears as "You go mine". Believing that Helen may be in danger, Tex rushes off to the Three Men Mine while he sends Ike to go and look for her at the Starett ranch. Arriving at the mine, Tex goes into the cabin and is knocked out. When he comes around he finds himself tied up with the Juggler in his presence. Tex figures out that the Juggler is really Ed Hugo. Hugo explains that he murdered the sheriff and intends to blame it on Nate, and then reclaim his mine. He then leaves Tex with a stick of dynamite to be blown to smithereens. Tex however manages to call his horse Fury who defuses the explosives and chews through his masters bonds.

Meanwhile, at the Starett ranch, the Juggler has Alkali and Helen at his mercy. Before shooting them with an arrow, the Juggler explains that Helen was really the daughter of Mac Harvell's daughter as she was conceived prior to her mother’s divorce. The Juggler intends to kill her and make it seem like Nate went insane upon learning the truth. They are saved in the nick of time when Tex arrives and shoots apart the bow and arrow in the Juggler's hand and then challenges him to a draw. Tex is a faster draw and shoots the Juggler dead. With the danger gone and Helen now the sole owner of the Three Men Mine, Tex and Alkali pay their farewells and ride back out onto the range.

Recurring Characters

• Tex Taylor

• Alkali Ike

• Fury

• Jenny

The Sheriff Who Wasn't!

Blaze Carson is being visited by US Marshall Jay Kenton when he is informed by Mrs. Grayson that her Harry has gotten into an argument with Ace Dorman and Bull Clanton at the Longhorn Saloon. Blaze and Kenton arrive just in time to stop a fight from happening. However as tempers flare, Bull throws a drink into Blaze's eyes and begins beating the sheriff up. Suddenly the lights go out and there are gunshots. When the lights go back on, Blaze is shocked to find a smoking gun in his hand and that Harry Grayson is dead. Kenton has no choice but to arrest Blaze on murder charges. However, Kenton believes that Blaze is innocent and will fight for a fair trial that will see him cleared.

However, Ace Dorman and Bull Clanton are pressuring Judge Benton to appoint Bull as the new sheriff of Red Dog. The next morning Bull is sworn in as sheriff during a public meeting. That night Blaze overhears Ace and Bull begin plotting to kill Blaze before his trail so that they can take advantage of Bull's new position. Blaze hides under the bed in his cell after making it look like he is sleeping in it. When Bull enters to kill him, Blaze gets the drop on Bull and knocks him out and flees town. The locals are about to go after him but Kenton talks them down, and they all decide to let Blaze try to clear his name.

With Bull Clanton as sheriff, Red Dog soon falls into a state of lawlessness the likes of which it has never known. The innocent people in town have a rally and learn from Judge Benton that Blaze is hiding out in the mountains waiting for Ace Dorman to make the wrong move. The Judge meets with Blaze and convinces him to come back to Red Dog and clear his name. Blaze decides the best way to do it is to go through Ace's weakest link: Bull Clanton. Carson returns to town and confronts Clanton in the sheriff's office. Without his guns, Bull is easily beaten by Blaze Carson and confesses that Ace framed him for murder. Blaze then locks up Bull and confronts Ace and his gang, gunning them down. With the crisis over, Blaze is reinstated as sheriff of Red Dog.

Recurring Characters

• Blaze Carson