Tex Ritter Western #11

When a greedy ferry operator named Link Tomey demands an outrageous hundred dollars per wagon to cross Pinto River—money desperate settlers simply don't have—Tex Ritter steps in to champion their cause and their land claims on the other side. As Tomey and his gang escalate their schemes to keep the settlers trapped on this side of the river, Tex leads them in building their own raft, only to face a brutal showdown when the criminals attempt to sabotage their crossing.

A young marshal transporting a dangerous prisoner learns a hard lesson about overconfidence when the cunning murderer seizes a desperate opportunity during their journey. Tommy Green discovers that restraints and warnings aren't always enough to keep a man with a silver tongue and quicker wits at bay in this tale of deception and survival.

Pinto Pete guides some folks through the famous Echo Canyon, inviting them to test out the canyon's legendary echoes—until he reveals the dark reason a woman lost her mind there the year before. It's a tongue-in-cheek tall tale about what happens when you can't get the last word in a place where everything comes right back at you.

Tex Ritter recovers his stolen saddle at a county auction in Hard Rock Town, only to discover it holds a hidden map burned into the leather—one that reveals where the notorious bank robber Calabash cached his gang's loot before meeting the noose. When Brig and his cutthroats learn what Tex has, they'll stop at nothing to claim the saddle and follow that map to fortune, but Tex and his loyal horse White Flash have other plans. This seven-page adventure pits Tex against outlaws, treacherous terrain, and a daring raid on an Indian village as he races to outwit the hardcases at their own game.

A cocky college boy named Simpkins returns home boasting that he knows everything, so Sagebrush decides to deflate his ego with a trick question about milk bottles and Philadelphia. It's a lighthearted Western humor piece where the confident newcomer learns that book smarts don't always prepare you for a clever riddle.

Tex Ritter arrives at Ten Mile City just as a dying man presses a cryptic clue into his hand—but when the dust settles, the ranger finds himself framed for murder with a lynch mob closing in. With the evidence stacked against him and his own badge turned into a weapon by someone he trusted, Tex must outrun the law and uncover the real killer before a noose becomes his only way out.

A would-be ranch hand named Gopher Face shows up looking for work, and when asked why he left his last job, he reveals he couldn't stand all the quarreling and yelling going on between his boss and the boss's wife—who both took turns directing their anger at him. It's a quick, wry look at what makes a job unbearable, wrapped up with the kind of deadpan humor that Western comics did so well in the early '50s.