Tom Mix Western #16

Tom Mix and Sheriff Mike Shaw investigate a string of brutal stagecoach robberies that have left no witnesses—until Tom devises a daring trap, posing as a driver to draw out the gang. When a shocking betrayal nearly costs him his life, Tom must fake his own death and go undercover once more to expose the mastermind behind the murders and bring the entire operation to justice.

Cowboy Cal spins a tall tale to one-up a fellow's rifle shot, claiming he once downed a deer over a mile away—and concocted a creative (if ridiculous) reason why he needed salt in his gun barrel. It's a short, punchy humor piece that captures the spirit of frontier tall-tale telling with plenty of frontier bluster and dubious logic.

When Old Slick is asked for a loan, the quick-witted character shows he knows his way around a tight spot—this half-page humor piece captures the kind of shrewd frontier wit that made Tom Mix Western a favorite among readers in 1949. It's a snappy little tale that proves sometimes the best answer is no answer at all.

Tumbleweed Jr. smuggles his pet turtle Myrtle to school despite repeated warnings, but when the creature escapes during morning exercises, it sets off a chain reaction of chaos that leaves the whole classroom in disarray. Though the teacher, Miss Dithers, initially singles him out as the model student, she eventually discovers the turtle's involvement and the truth about what really caused the mayhem. Now Tumbleweed Jr. faces the consequences of his mischief—but not quite in the way he expected.

Tom Mix uncovers a clever outlaw working the territory when a stray chicken feather becomes the unlikely clue to a criminal's identity—a retired rustler who's come out of retirement to prove he's still a force to be reckoned with. With Sheriff Mike Shaw at his side, Tom tracks the culprit to a mountain ranch and unmasking a mystery that hinges on a very particular breed of bird. The trail to justice has never been more personal—or more feathered.

A curious man learns a painful lesson when he sticks his fingers into a horse's mouth to count its teeth—only to discover the horse has equally inquisitive intentions in this half-page western humor tale from 1949.

A hapless job seeker named Horatio walks into an employment agency hoping for easy work, but his vague qualifications, checkered past, and stubborn refusal to follow basic job-search protocol quickly test the patience of the agency clerk. As Horatio's excuses and contradictions pile up—from laziness to a jail stay he's oddly proud of—the two butt heads over what it takes to land a real position. This 1949 humor piece plays his incompetence and the clerk's escalating frustration for laughs as only a western-era comic could.

When King Henry of Transvania arrives in the American West for a chance to meet his idol Tom Mix, the young monarch has no idea that ruthless conspirators have followed him across the ocean—planning to kidnap him and seize his throne. Tom welcomes his royal guest to the TM Bar Ranch, but the kidnappers strike fast, leaving Tom knocked cold and King Henry in their clutches. Now Tom must track the villains through the treacherous hills and use all his wits and skill to rescue his friend before the conspirators make good on their murderous scheme.