Real Western Hero #72

Hopalong Cassidy investigates a string of outlaw raids plaguing the Mexican border by going undercover as a Mexican outlaw alongside his companion Mesquite—only to discover that the smugglers have been using a hidden tunnel beneath the Rio Grande to slip past the border patrol. When the gang's ruthless leader, Whiteside, is cornered deep in the tunnel and bullets begin to crack the ancient structure, Hopalong must track him down before the passage collapses entirely.

Loco Lew gets some exciting news when a letter arrives from his uncle, setting him up for a comedic adventure in this lighthearted Western tale. What happens next promises the kind of frontier hijinks you'd expect from a character with a name like Loco Lew.

When a peace treaty between Tom Mix and Chief Thunder Eye threatens to open a profitable new Pony Express route, a disgruntled rival named Jed Deckter sees his chance to sabotage the competition—by secretly conspiring with the hot-headed Eagle Neck to drive off horses and waylay messengers. After the scheduled rider is kidnapped, Tom Mix takes his place and faces a grueling ride through hostile territory with his trusted horse Tony, forced to outrun ambushes and outwit determined pursuers determined to stop him from reaching Los Gatos. It's a white-knuckle race against both man and the clock in "The Ride to Doom!"

Gabby Hayes storms out of the Bar O Ranch after a quarrel with Aunt Hester, only to get tangled up with two men claiming to be gold miners fleeing from outlaws—though things are far more complicated than they first appear. As Gabby tries to help his new companions reach the border, his good intentions lead to a wild night of mountain trails, misguided loyalty, and the kind of frontier chaos only he can stumble through.

Young Falcon, son of the slain Truefeather tribe's chief, faces a deadly trap set by the renegade Black-Moon and his hunters—caught between closing enemies on all sides and impassable rapids at his back. Using quick thinking and a fallen scout's own weapons, Young Falcon must find an impossible way out before the noose tightens. It's a desperate gambit that will test whether the son of a chief can outsmart his pursuers and live to continue his quest for the stolen tribal emblem.

When Monte Hale rescues a young Cheyenne boy named Gray Fox from a boulder and a vicious eagle, the grateful tribe member declares him blood-brother—a bond that's tested when Monte discovers a treacherous white trader named Dirk Barter has been deliberately stirring up the peaceful Cheyennes against their white neighbors to clear the land and claim a hidden gold vein for himself. Now Monte must survive Barter's scheme and find a way to stop the violence before the entire territory erupts into all-out war.