Lash LaRue Western #26

Lash LaRue takes unpaid leave from his marshal's post to help an old friend—President Juan Chavez of the South American nation of Guataxco—root out a traitor in his government before a rebel army led by the exiled General Juano can reclaim power. Racing against time, Lash must identify the spy among the President's advisors and prevent a massacre that could topple the fledgling democracy.

Chip's bored with the quiet frontier life and tells Wagon-Wheels he wants something more stirring—so Wagon-Wheels suggests he become a soda jerk at the drugstore in town, where he'd be stirring sodas and malteds all day long. It's a pun-filled setup that plays on the young man's hunger for excitement in the Old West.

Lash LaRue tracks a pair of quick-witted con artists across two towns who've perfected a brilliant scheme: posing as a kleptomaniac and his concerned brother to gain a jeweler's trust before making off with diamonds. When the marshal finally corners them on a stagecoach, he discovers the bandits have pulled off a desperate switch that leaves him chasing the wrong suspects—and the real thieves scrambling for one last escape.

Dusty finds himself fed up with life at Ma Jones' Boardinghouse, where the rent demands are relentless, the portions are meager, and his fellow boarders have turned mealtime into a competitive sport of distraction and theft. Through a series of increasingly absurd complaints—from his time as a food taster to Ma Jones' mysteriously superhuman strength—Dusty explains to Sam why he's decided to move on from the boarding house once and for all.

When a fellow tries to hammer a nail with a hairbrush, Molasses Mouth can't resist offering some practical advice—but his well-meaning suggestion in "Fighting Words" lands him in hot water with Fred Dukes. This quick Western humor bit shows what happens when a smartmouth's honest observation gets taken the wrong way in the Old West.

When two young outlaws try to recruit an ex-convict named Pug Melton for a train robbery and burn down his shack after he refuses, Lash LaRue sets a trap—but the heist becomes far more complicated than anyone expected when a corrupt engineer and a hidden player with deeper ambitions all converge on the same speeding locomotive. It'll take the famous marshal's wits, his whip, and a clever bit of misdirection to uncover who really pulled the job and recover the prize.