Monte Hale Western #35

When Bronko Betsy decides to ride her bicycle indoors, she creates a disaster that her father can't ignore—a chandelier becomes the unfortunate casualty of her creative problem-solving. This one-page humor tale from 1949 captures the kind of reckless logic that only a determined young rider could dream up.

Old Slick won't hear any complaints about the heat from a couple of worn-out cowboys—he's got a tall tale about a day so scorching that even the desert critters gave up on exertion. This one-page Western humor story puts the grizzled veteran's gift for storytelling front and center, turning a lazy afternoon into a battle of wills over who can endure the toughest conditions.

Monte Hale rides into Jewel Valley bearing supplies for old friends Baldy Benson and Chuck, only to discover they've been trapped by the outlaw Hi-Jack and his gang, who've enslaved prospectors to work a hidden diamond mine in silence. When Monte is captured alongside them, he hatches a plan using a smuggled diamond to weaken their bonds—setting the stage for a desperate fight for freedom against ruthless captors.

Old Slick settles in with an arithmetic book, determined to become an expert in mathematics—but when a skeptical friend tests his newfound knowledge with a series of questions, the old-timer's answers prove more clever than scholarly. This brief 1949 Western humor tale plays the gap between book learning and frontier wit for a quick laugh.

When Gabby wakes up in the chair of a traveling dentist named Doc Yankum, he thinks he's found relief from his terrible toothache—but the good doctor and his assistant are actually con artists using anesthetic gas to rob their patients. After the gas leaves Gabby confused and convinced it's the Fourth of July, his delirious antics accidentally expose the dentist's wanted poster and stolen goods, turning the tables on the crooks. By the time the dust settles, Gabby stumbles into being the unexpected hero of the day—and discovers his toothache problem solved itself in the chaos.

When Colonel Clark Hollis assumes command of Fort Lagoche, his festering hatred of Indians—born from a tragedy at Custer's Last Stand—blinds him to the truth: white renegades, not the friendly Ottawatamie tribe, are behind the raids terrorizing the territory. Monte Hale must race to expose the deception before the Colonel's vengeful orders trigger a massacre, but proving the renegades' guilt while trapped in the guardhouse proves nearly impossible. As dawn breaks and violence erupts, Monte and his ally Laughing Creek face a desperate struggle to stop the slaughter.