Two-Gun Kid #29
Blazing Frontier!
While on his way to visit his friend Cass Cumber he is directed through a desert by a man along the way who suggests it as the fastest way to get there, assuring the Two-Gun Kid that there is many watering holes there. What the Kid finds instead is a blazing wasteland and is at the risk of dying of thirst. His desire to get revenge against the man who sent him on this trail and seeing his friend Cass are the only two things that keep him alive until he finds a watering hole. Eventually he arrives at the Rocking C Ranch owned by Cass, but is surprised to learn that Cass apparently died the previous winter in the winter and that the ranch was bought by a man named Bull Murdock. To the Kid's surprise, Bull Murdock turns out to be the man who steered him into the desert. Angry, Two-Gun lunges at Bull and a fight breaks out but the Kid is soon pulled off by Murdock's ranch hands. Suspecting that the Kid knows too much, Bull orders his men to tie the hero to his horse and send it into the river in the hopes of drowning the Kid and he is left for dead.
However, Two-Gun and his horse Cyclone manage to survive and are pulled to shore by the sheriff. Finding it suspicious that Cass could die in a blizzard when he was accustomed to working farther north, the Kid asks the sheriff about what happened to Cass. He learns that Cass was having troubles with his horses being rustled without a trace and would have lost his ranch had Bull Murdock was not holding the mortgage. The Kid decides to look into Cass' death further and gather proof that he was murdered. He sneaks back to the Rocking C and looks around the grounds near the mountains and finds that there is a track of Jimson weed growing and realizes that it thrives from a seasonal river created by the melting of winter snow up in the mountains. The Kid then deduces that whoever stole the horses used the river to cover his tracks and when Cass discovered this he was killed.
Suddenly, Bull's men start shooting at the Kid from the house, prompting the Kid to rush at it. He fights his way in and easily subdues Bull who agrees to confess upon surrender just as the sheriff comes bursting in. With Bull and his men rounded up the sheriff thanks the Kid for his help and that he will track down Cass's estate to find out who rightfully owns the land.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Cyclones
Guns Across the Border
The Two-Gun Kid comes across a gang of men moving guns illegally along the Texas border and is attacked and taken prisoner. Along the way toward Mexico he learns that the men are going to sell the guns to an outlaw by the name of Bat Bradley, who will use them to raid farms and ranches on both sides of the border. Seeing that his horse Cyclone is tied up to the back of the wagon he is prisoner on, he jumps the rider and takes control of the reins. He then gets to the front of the wagon train and slams his wagon to a halt causing the others to crash into each other and then makes a break for it.
Circling around and catching up with the gun runners he finds them after they have topped for a coffee break. The Kid uses this opportunity to try and set the wagons on fire, but gets caught after lighting only one. Once again the leader of the gun runners decides to take the Kid prisoner and turn him over to Bradley and his men when they arrive in Mexico.
When they arrive at Bradley's camp, the gun runners learn that they will be killed instead of paid after the Two-Gun Kid is executed. However before they can shoot the Kid he whistles for his horse Cyclone whom he jumps on and gets away. The Kid then grabs a nearby torch and throws it at the wagons and flees the scene as the ammunition inside all the wagons go up in a huge explosion.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Cyclones
Gunsmoke
Answering a letter from an outlaw named Cactus Walters, the Two-Gun Kid rides up to meet him outside the town in Montana where he lives. There the Kid almost gets killed in an unnatural rock slide but narrowly escapes. He finds Cactus Walters who denies trying to kill the Kid, explaining that he has gone straight having taken on the alias Cal Bond. He explains that he is married and has a child and took up ranching, but the area ranchers have had trouble with their wealthy competitor Lew Carpus who has been forcing them to pay the right to the water he owns which is threatening to put everyone else out of business. When the Kid asks why Bond called for him, he points out that when he gave up being an outlaw, he stopped wearing guns. Only partially convinced, the Two-Gun Kid agrees to take a look at things for himself before deciding to get involved.
When they arrive in town, Blackie -- the sheriff installed in town by Lew Carpus -- confronts the Kid telling him that carrying guns in town is against the law. When the Kid points out that there are others carrying weapons in town Lew appears and orders Blackie and his men to deal with the outsider. The Kid defends himself, but eventually is overpowered and locked in the local jail. With the Two-Gun Kid locked up, Lew then orders Blackie to get his men ready to drive the ranchers off their land.
However, the Kid is soon visited at the windows of his cell by Cal's wife who gives him guns and a set of keys and tells him that Cal is coming in from up front. When the Kid gets out of his cell he is surprised to see Cal armed and ordering Lew and his men to stand down. When the Two-Gun Kid gets the drop on the outlaws, they agree to stand down. The Kid then tells them to clear out of town as he is getting into contact with the local Marshal to deal with them. After Lew and his men clear out, the Kid assures Cal that it was a bluff and as he has gone a long way to clearing the crimes of Cactus Walters, suggests that Cal should become the new sheriff in town.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Cyclones
The Hunters!
The Two-Gun Kid agrees to take out British hunter Frederick Marsden hunting with his wife. While out, Marsedn's wife is almost attacked by a mountain lion but Two-Gun shoots it dead. His wife thanks him for saving his life and warns him of her husbands bad temper. That night when they set up camp, the Kid hears Marsden and his wife arguing, with his wife accusing him of trying to get her out of the way. He finds the entire conversation strange and suspicious, and considers he would not have taken them on the hunting trip if his friend the sheriff hadn't asked him.
The following day, the Kid points out a trail that is used for stage coaches to move payroll from the town of Laramie to Highpockets and suggests that they move further away as the coaches scare away game. After another day of hunting, Marsden and his wife hold up a stage coach that is passing through in the night. The Two-Gun Kid catches them with the stolen payroll. But before he can stop them, Marsden's wife gets the drop on him and the Brit knocks the Kid out and they leave him tied up to a tree while they escape.
Coming around, the Kid calls his horse Cyclone who chews through the ropes. Thinking he's figured out "Marsden's" true identity, the Two-Gun Kid rides into Highpockets where he asks the sheriff to pull out his wanted posters. He finds the poster for an outlaw named James "Gunner" Blake, who was a former actor before turning to a life of crime. Realizing that he is really Marsden, both the Kid and the sheriff follow after the train that the "Marsden's" left town in. The Kid races after the train and jumps aboard. There he gets the drop on Blake and takes both the outlaw and his wife prisoner.
Recurring Characters
Two-Gun Kid
Cyclones
