Rocky Lane Western #16

Rocky Lane, the undercover Marshal, arrives at the Cinder-Box Ranch to find it ablaze, but inside he discovers a man unconscious in the house—George Tilson, the new owner, who doesn’t match the ranch’s previous owner, Bill Weston. As Rocky investigates, he uncovers a burned bill of sale and a note confirming the sale, but the circumstances surrounding Tilson’s presence and the fire raise troubling questions about who truly owns the ranch—and who might have set the blaze to cover a deadly secret.

Grizzly Burr returns from a ninety-day stay in what he calls a "rubber factory"—a jail where he was imprisoned for raising cattle off his neighbor's ranch, leading to a series of absurdly humorous exchanges with Slim Pickens about his time behind bars. When a mysterious cowboy has been searching for him daily, Grizzly Burr reveals the truth: it wasn’t Cactus Joe, but Texas Tom, whose dog he once sold—only to later discover the dog slept through an outlaw raid.

Rocky Lane arrives in Lizard Rock to track the elusive knife-throwing outlaw known as the Blade, after the local sheriff is attacked and a witness claims to have seen the criminal’s face. As Rocky follows a series of clues, he grows suspicious of a rancher who seems to know too much—and when the man’s alibi unravels, Rocky sets a trap to expose the truth.

Rocky Lane rides to the aid of a wagon train that’s veered off the Oregon Trail, only to find it ambushed by a band of raiders who don’t act like real Indians. As he investigates strange trail signs, stolen horses sold at inflated prices, and riders who don’t ride like Sioux, he begins to suspect the attackers are impostors using the guise of Native warriors to rob settlers.

A young man named Charley worries aloud about his goldfish during a drought, fearing he won’t have enough water to keep it alive. His friend Gopher Face reassures him with a bizarre solution involving a damp rag, claiming the fish loved it so much they wagged their tails in delight.

Sagebrush is distraught after discovering the boss’s hair is gone, convinced everything is ruined — only to learn he’s mistaken, and the hair is just missing, not the whole head. Rocky Lane, ever the calm presence, tries to reassure him, but the situation spirals into absurdity with a comically exaggerated reaction.

A young cowboy tends to his bronc at a remote hitching post during a scorching summer, relying on the animal’s instinct to seek out a salt lick to endure the heat. As the pair rests under the open sky, the story highlights the deep bond between horse and rider, where care for the bronc comes before all else.

A young woman named Priscilla worries about gaining weight, prompting Rocky Lane to suggest hossback riding as a solution. He insists her lack of experience will make the weight loss even more dramatic, leaving her skeptical but intrigued.

Rocky Lane follows a trail of stagecoach robberies to the Timberland Trail, where he suspects the elusive Twin-gun Eliot is behind the crimes. After spotting a group of riders who seem to be switching horses mid-chase, Rocky uses a clever ruse involving a ditch-digging crew to test their story and expose their deception.