Lash LaRue Western #8

Lash LaRue uncovers a dope-smuggling operation that's been using the U.S. mail to move heroin across the border, but his investigation puts him directly in the gang's crosshairs—and they're willing to hold him captive as bargaining leverage with the law. Outnumbered and chained, the clever marshal must find a way to break free and turn the tables on the criminals before they can make their escape.

Dusty opens a butcher shop in the Old West and immediately faces off with a persistent customer who can't afford the steep prices—and won't take no for an answer. When the fellow returns in disguise for another shot at scoring some meat on credit, Dusty's sharp tongue proves just as sharp as his butchering knife, trading barbs and wisecracks that keep both customer and butcher thoroughly entertained. It's a rollicking battle of wits where the real meat of the story is the comedy gold.

Lash LaRue, a roving marshal assigned to keep the peace in Sombreland Territory, finds his authority undermined when a cunning outlaw named Granger orchestrates a scheme to steal his prized bullwhip and turn public opinion against him. As the townspeople lose faith in their lawman's ability to protect them, Lash must track down his stolen honor and expose Granger's protection racket before the territory falls into the criminal's hands.

Wagonwheels takes it upon himself to cure a friend's chronic scratching habit by keeping a month-long tally—with a punishment for every itch the culprit can't resist. This one's a quick, groan-worthy gag that proves the Old West had its share of dubious cures and worse puns.

When a payroll wagon carrying five thousand dollars comes under attack by bandits posing as soldiers, Marshal Lash LaRue finds himself thrown in the fort's brig alongside the real guards—and forced to lead the crooks to a hideout. With his guns gone and outnumbered, Lash must use his wits and his signature whip to turn the tables and recover the stolen payroll before these outlaws slip away for good.

When Fussy Frank has a terrible steak dinner at Chuck's Chop House, he learns an ironic lesson about ordering food at the restaurant. His advice? If you want something well done, order it rare—because the kitchen never fails to serve up the exact opposite of what you ask for.

When Big Bow lands a job as a waiter at the Tepee Tea Shoppe, Little Arrow's arrival as a customer kicks off a chaotic battle of wits—and threats—between the two. As orders go hilariously wrong and tempers flare over fish, fingers, and the finer points of how to kill someone, this 1950 western comedy proves that service with a smile isn't always in the cards at a frontier eatery.

Horace has taught his horse to talk, and he's eager to show off the trick to his skeptical friend—but there's a catch that explains why nobody else can hear the conversation in this lighthearted one-pager from *Lash LaRue Western*.

When Roving Marshal Lash LaRue is called to Bordertown to collect a stage robber, he discovers the outlaw's capture is connected to a murder in the hills—and the real gang is still at large with stolen gold. As Lash pursues the killers into the rough terrain, the widow of the murdered miner becomes an unexpected ally, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation that will test the master of the bull-whip.

Molasses Mouth gets a confidence boost when the pretty Clarabelle Turner offers him a compliment—until a friend reveals that what she really called him was an unflattering insult dressed up in fancy words. This quick frontier humor tale plays on the humor of mistaken pride and clever wordplay in "Has Flattered Brains!"