Rocky Lane Western #41

A young man challenges Sagebrush to prove he’s smarter, leading to a playful showdown of wits. When asked how to get down from an elephant’s back, Sagebrush confidently gives the wrong answer—only to be outsmarted by a clever twist on the riddle.

A young man proudly announces his nephew’s first tooth—only to reveal it was cut with a razor blade, leaving the local gopher-faced man stunned into silence. The story plays on the absurdity of frontier pride and unexpected twists in a lighthearted, humorous Western setting.

In a playful Western showdown, a boastful cowboy challenges Dee Dickens to a series of clever bets, turning a disputed twenty-dollar bill into a game of wits. When Dee insists on answering "a punch in the nose" to every question—claiming it’s the better choice—his opponent uses the rules to claim victory, leaving Dee both outsmarted and out of cash. The story ends with Dee vowing never to try tricking someone again, even as he’s still the one left looking foolish.

Rocky Lane, sleeping on the prairie, awakens to catch a thief rifling through his belongings—only to discover the man is Dan Blake, a wanted outlaw. When the thief flees, Rocky follows a trail that leads him to Snake Hollow Bend, where he pretends to be Blake to infiltrate a gang led by Jeff Crofton, suspecting a hidden mastermind behind the crimes.

Tightwad Tad is frustrated after trying to pay his department store bill with a smile, only to be told he still needs money—much to his annoyance. The humor stems from his literal interpretation of the store’s slogan, leading to a comical misunderstanding.

In a remote frontier town, a series of mysterious robberies leave the sheriff baffled—each crime marked only by the sound of a dog barking in the night, though no dog is ever seen. When a prospector reports being robbed and claims a dog warned the thief, Marshal Rocky Lane takes up the case, suspecting a clever criminal using a trained parrot to mimic a dog’s bark and throw off the trail. As Rocky investigates, he uncovers a hidden network of deception where the real danger isn’t a beast, but a man who’s turned a bird into his most dangerous accomplice.

Harper, a Wyoming ranch hand, arrives in Hollywood hoping to land a movie role after leaving his job back home. When he sees a sign for extras, he’s excited—until the director tells him his job is to enter a cage with a lion, only to reveal the beast was raised on milk and poses no threat.