Western Hero #101

Sagebrush wanders into town and spots a notice seeking a singer for the opera house—a perfect opportunity, he figures, to showcase his talents. When he boasts about his vocal prowess and recounts a past performance of "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," his audience gets an earful of just how memorable his singing really was.

Gabby Hayes, foreman of the Bar Nothing Ranch, discovers his prized horse Corker can suddenly talk—much to the confusion of everyone in town. When a ventriloquist's trick makes Corker spill embarrassing gossip about Gabby, two desperate outlaws kidnap the horse to silence him before he can testify about their Wells Fargo robbery. Gabby rides hard to rescue his pal, setting in motion a scheme that turns the tables on the criminals.

Red Eagle, young Chief of the Canuga tribe, returns home with seed for spring planting—but two opportunistic bandits he bested in town devise a cunning scheme to steal his people's gold by using the tribal totem pole as a mouthpiece. As the talking totem's demands grow increasingly greedy, Red Eagle suspects trickery and stakes out the sacred pole to uncover the truth.

Monte Hale pursues a murderer who steals a treasure map and flees into the remote Lobo Mountains, only to fall victim to the fierce Indians dwelling there—who trap him in an iron mask as punishment. When Hale tracks him down, he finds himself forced to help the condemned killer escape, setting off a desperate chase across the desert where the very instrument of the man's punishment becomes his undoing. A tale of frontier justice where even a world-weary cowboy must grapple with mercy and the price of crime.

A concerned friend finds Cactus Brain still in bed well past morning and rushes to check on him, only to discover the cantankerous character has a surprisingly logical—if stubborn—reason for staying put. This quick western-frontier gag proves that sometimes the simplest answer is the one staring you right in the face in "Wide Awake Answer."

Tom Mix rides into conflict when a group of settlers seeking land near Fork Valley clash with the eccentric Redcoat Brigade—men who dress and live as though stuck in Revolutionary times and fiercely guard their territory from outsiders. After peaceful negotiation fails, Mix must outwit the stubborn brigade and their violent resistance to prevent bloodshed and secure a home for the settlers.

Big Bow and Little Arrow clash over a wager when Little Arrow claims he can double Big Bow's money through a clever bet involving a can and some quick sleight of hand. As the trick unfolds, Big Bow discovers that what he thought was real cash is actually stage money—but that's only the beginning of the con. This lighthearted frontier comedy proves that outsmarting a trickster is harder than it looks.