Real Western Hero #70

When scheming land grabber Zach Harper orchestrates a bank explosion to kidnap banker John Sloan and force local ranchers into foreclosure, Sheriff Hopalong Cassidy must piece together what happened and track down both the banker and Harper's plot before the families of Northern Valley lose everything. Trapped in a cave with Sloan and forced to think fast, Hopalong has to outmaneuver Harper and his men to get back to town in time to save the ranchers from losing their homes to the land grab.

Chief Gray Matter shows up at Tom Fitchum's door demanding payment on an old debt, but finds himself in an unexpected wrestling match when the man claims a sprained back prevents him from talking business. It's a comedic collision between a collector with a single-minded mission and a debtor with a creative excuse.

When peace shatters over the Truefeather camp, the outcast Black-Moon and his followers strike with brutal force, slaughtering the tribe and claiming the sacred tribal totem as their own. Young Falcon watches his father fall and swears vengeance, determined to reclaim the totem that is rightfully his—but he'll have to survive Black-Moon's trap and track his enemy across treacherous terrain to do it. This frontier tale follows a young warrior's desperate race against time and nature to restore honor to his people.

A know-it-all tries to give the sheriff some unsolicited advice on how to do his job in "Out of the Way," a humorous western tale from *Real Western Hero* #70 (1948). When the lawman takes offense and shows him the door—literally—our hero learns that sometimes the best counsel is to keep quiet. There's also a lighthearted bit about a boy and his jittery dessert that speaks for itself.

When Monte Hale checks into a San Pedro hotel for a decent night's sleep, a notorious outlaw called the Coyote robs the bank next door—and the jaded townspeople seem ready to let the thief vanish into the desert. But Monte has other ideas, organizing the reluctant locals into a methodical hunt using tactics that work on real predators. As the chase intensifies across the prairie, the cunning Coyote turns the tables with a trick of his own, forcing Monte to think as fast as his quarry runs.

Li'l Buck gets caught in a comedy of errors when chores go hilariously wrong—after washing and drying the dishes as instructed, the young troublemaker's carelessness leads to a mess that requires some quick explaining to Paw. It's a humorous frontier tale about a kid learning that good intentions don't always mean good results.

Whitey Whiskers boasts to Daniel Boone Jr. about owning the smartest mule in the world, then proves it by recounting how the animal dominated a livestock competition—outpacing other horses in arithmetic and dazzling the judges with its dancing prowess. When Whitey attempts one final demonstration of the mule's affection, things take a delightfully unexpected turn.

When Tom Mix's friend Sam Jones brings his new bride Liza back to the frontier settlement of Dry Gulch as homesteaders, they arrive to find the town under attack by raiders—and soon discover the violence is no accident. Tom must confront the ruthless cattleman Bull Ferriss, who's determined to drive the settlers off the land, in a showdown that will test whether the homesteaders can hold their ground against overwhelming odds. With the settlement burning and time running out, Tom races to stop Ferriss before the raiders destroy everything Sam and Liza have fought to build.