Lash LaRue Western #28

Lash LaRue accepts a marshal's assignment in Rapid Falls County, only to discover that the three bank robbers the sheriff thought drowned in the falls may still be alive—and he spots them taking refuge in a deserted cabin not long after. With the stolen ten thousand dollars still missing and the outlaws clearly planning their next move, Lash must track down the "roaming dead men" before they vanish into the hills. The race is on to recover the loot and bring the killers to justice.

A case of mistaken identity turns into a hilarious debate when Dusty finds himself accused of horse rustling by an overzealous prospector—only to have the real culprit turn out to be a question about history. When the two get tangled up arguing over the color of Paul Revere's horse, they end up brawling in the library until a well-meaning bystander tries to settle their dispute with an answer nobody expected.

Molasses Mouth faces a crisis of time as Monday morning arrives, fretting that the week is already slipping away before he's accomplished anything—a worry that spirals into comic despair over the relentless march of days ahead. This brief western humor piece plays on the familiar anxiety of racing against the clock, with plenty of sighs and exasperation to match the mounting worry.

Wagonwheels shares a tall tale about the time he took his horse up to his hotel room—with hilariously disastrous results—in this one-page humor story from 1952. When a fellow asks what all the commotion was about at the local hotel, Wagonwheels launches into the punchline with perfect comic timing.

Molasses Mouth faces a furious Burly Burleigh, who's convinced that the loudmouth called him a fool—and now the angry man is coming to settle the score. Our quick-thinking hero scrambles to the attic, hoping his hiding spot will keep him safe from Burleigh's wrath, but when his pursuer gets close enough to ask if he's up there, Molasses Mouth has to think fast.

Wagonwheels runs into an old working partner who's gotten a little too big for his britches—literally trying to brush off their past friendship now that he's "moved up in the world" as an aspiring author. When the fellow boasts about his plan to write a book about the great open spaces, Wagonwheels sees his chance to cut him down to size with a perfectly timed quip that lands right where it hurts.

When a man with a shady past applies for work at a general store, the owner's suspicion falls squarely on him—but Lash LaRue discovers the real scheme is far more cunning than it seems. The roving marshal must untangle a clever con designed to keep an honest employer looking the wrong way while the real thieves make their move.