Black Diamond Western #13 (1949)

When a mysterious slaughter of buffalo threatens to ignite a war between Chief Thundercloud’s tribe and the U.S. Army, the Black Diamond is called upon to intervene—just as the troops have been withdrawn and a shadowy plot begins to unfold. With only two days to stall the conflict and uncover the true instigators behind the violence, Bob Vale must navigate treachery and shifting loyalties in a race against time.

Captain Josh Brad steers the Harbor Belle through treacherous waters, guarding a fortune in gold dust and a shipload of homesick miners, as tensions rise with a known outlaw, Ed Hammer, who’s plotting revenge. With the river pirates closing in and the threat of ambush looming, Brad prepares his crew for a deadly confrontation at the narrows—where the real battle for survival begins.

In the dusty frontier town of Skull Creek, a group of prospectors—Abner, Zeb, Luke, and Axel—swap jokes and misadventures while dealing with stubborn mules, giant snakes, and a poker debt, all while a mysterious bank advertisement and a piano lesson ad pop up in the background. Sheriff Wade Langley watches it all unfold from the shade of the jail, amused by the antics of the oddball cowboys and the strange signs that seem to follow them.

Sheriff Coriolanus Thorpe arrives in the lawless Sundown Valley, a soft-spoken man with a long mane and a six-gun worn on the wrong side, to find the town divided and on the brink of a violent range war between ranchers and sheepmen. As tensions flare and riders vanish, Thorpe must prove his worth not just with his unorthodox style, but by uniting the frightened townsfolk and confronting the hidden threats in the hills.