Rocky Lane Western #57

When Rocky Lane stumbles into a saloon brawl to help a down-on-his-luck ranch hand named Joker, he uncovers a reunion with an old friend—but their time together is cut short when a vicious gambler named Dude Hampton spots an opportunity for revenge. Needing leverage against the stranger who humiliated him, Hampton sets his sights on the one person close enough to hurt: young Spunky, the ranch owner's son. Now Rocky must race against a kidnapper's deadline to save the boy and settle accounts with a man who's pushed the frontier just a little too far.

This story contains three separate humor vignettes. In the first, a teacher's lesson on paraphrasing takes an unexpectedly funny turn when Pedro misunderstands the assignment. The second follows Pistol Packing Pattie as she encounters a Hollywood big shot eager to show off his importance—until his confidence gets a dose of reality. The third snippet, set at the Bar T ranchhouse with Tex Caltrop, appears to begin a tale about caution in the Old West, though the full story is cut off mid-scene.

When Frank sends Dee to the depot to meet his boss's beautiful daughter fresh from finishing school, Dee jumps at the chance—only to discover Frank's concocted the whole thing as a prank. But the joke backfires when circumstances conspire to turn Dee's wild goose chase into a genuine stroke of luck, leaving Frank nursing regrets (and a sore jaw) instead of the last laugh.

Rocky Lane is assigned to keep the election in the lawless Canterville Territory honest, but suspicious activities quickly emerge—cattle rustling, secret payoffs from a gambling casino owner, and a candidate with far more to hide than his campaign suggests. As election day approaches, Rocky must uncover the corruption before the wrong man takes office and the territory falls completely under outlaw control.