Young Eagle #4

A young man nursing a long-standing crush on his former elementary school teacher discovers that the age gap that kept them apart wasn't quite what he remembered—a humorous Western tale about misconceptions and the passage of time. This 1951 story from Young Eagle plays the setup for laughs as a character's romanticized memory collides with an awkward truth.

Young Eagle, the gallant Indian scout sent from Fort Wayne, arrives in the troubled town of Colby just as an escaped convict named Chip Cannon returns to settle an old score—the murder of his brother. When Young Eagle intervenes to save Cannon from a deadly ambush, the townspeople mistake him for the outlaw's accomplice, leading to a tense confrontation that forces him to reveal his true identity to the skeptical sheriff. With suspicion running high and danger closing in, Young Eagle must uncover the deadly secret behind Cannon's return before the volatile situation explodes into violence.

Mrs. Higgins seeks out Doc Sorebones in a panic over her husband's peculiar habit of blowing smoke rings through his nose—which would be alarming enough, except for one troubling detail: her husband doesn't smoke. Doc tries to make sense of the woman's worry in this humorous 1951 tale.

Young Eagle discovers that the mysterious gunman from the previous chapter is a hardened outlaw named Chip Cannon, who initially refuses his offer to join forces—but when Young Eagle learns that Cannon is searching for his brother's killer, he decides to shadow the fugitive to gain his trust. As Cannon confronts the banker Jeff Thomas about a deadly ambush, a brutal fight erupts in the stable, and a fallen lantern sets the building ablaze, trapping the unconscious outlaw in the inferno. Young Eagle must navigate the raging fire to save the man who once saved him, leading to a harrowing rescue attempt against impossible odds.

Old Smokey shares a pair of tall tales about the hazards of sore feet—one involving his cousin's run-in with a tank, the other a lucky escape from a bandit thanks to some precise distance-keeping. This 1951 western-humor romp proves that sometimes the smallest measurements can make all the difference between a good story and a great punchline.

When Chip Cannon escapes a burning stable, Young Eagle—an Indian scout working with the Sheriff—rescues him and offers an unlikely alliance: a dangerous plan to trap the corrupt Jeff Thomas and expose his gang's crimes. As Cannon struggles between his past as a forced accomplice and his chance at redemption, Young Eagle sets a trap within a trap, but Thomas and his men arrive early with guns drawn and murder on their minds. With the showdown at the hide-out about to turn deadly, both sides are about to discover that plans don't always go the way they're written.

When a visitor asks Buckshot about happenings around town, he learns about a devastating storm that swept through—one so fierce it destroyed everything the local man owned. But there's more to the story than meets the eye, and the punchline lands with a thunderclap of humor.