Tex Ritter Western #34

Tex Ritter, the prairie ranger, discovers that ruthless foreman Whitey Bleek has muscled his way into control of old Tom Horgan's Crisscross outfit by hiring the deadliest guns for hire in the Panhandle—and is using the threat of a range war to seize the ranch and its herds. When Tex arrives at Green City to investigate the trouble, he finds the town eerily empty and controlled by Bleek's hired gunmen, setting him on a collision course with the foreman and his army of cutthroats. Outnumbered and held prisoner, Tex must find a way to expose Bleek's scheme and restore order to the valley before the ruthless foreman can strip old Tom's ranch bare.

When Tex Ritter stands up for an old-timer named Two-Gun Tom against a gang of roughneck bullies, he figures the matter is settled—but Tom has other plans, quietly shadowing the outlaws through town to prove his tall tales aren't just bluster. When a bank robbery erupts and Tom takes matters into his own hands, Tex discovers that sometimes the best gunslinger in a story is the one everyone underestimated.

Tex Ritter expects a warm welcome at the sprawling XOX Ranch to visit his old friend Pete Briggs, but instead finds the place under the control of Pete's uncle Earl—a man no one on the ranch has ever met before. When Tex notices the once-proud property falling into disrepair and learns that valuable cattle are being sold off, he begins to suspect something far more sinister than simple mismanagement is at work. Alongside the loyal ranch hand Vince, Tex sets out to uncover the truth behind the mysterious uncle and his ruthless scheme.

Hill Billy returns from the big fair at Acorn Corners bursting with tales of the livestock on display, and naturally steers the conversation toward the impressive variety of hogs and pigs he spotted there. When his companion—a self-proclaimed pig fancier—learns what he missed, Hill Billy can't help but express his surprise at the absence, setting up a wryly humorous moment in this 1956 western tale.

When ten thousand land-hungry settlers line up for the opening of the Roaring River Territory, Tex Ritter arrives on special assignment to stop a crooked scheme—a hidden gang working for the gambler Gus Hawks is planning to stake claims to the best land before the rush even begins. With his dog Fury at his side, Tex sets a trap to locate the gang's secret hideout and must race against the starting gun to prevent Hawks' men from seizing the territory.

Molasses Mouth has a habit of talking to himself—but he's come up with a clever scheme to break it. By asking himself questions in English and answering only in French, a language he doesn't understand, he figures he'll finally stop the whole conversation cold. It's a delightfully crooked bit of logic that only makes sense in the Old West.