VT #j-, -^ ,KILLED AND BURIED \ / WE STILL HAVE VTHEIR FATHER, SO //TO LEARN WHO \THE OLD WILL C > KILLED BLAISE \WOULD HOLD GOOD. \/AND HIS FRIENDS^

7 WHAT ^T(ON EARTH t-MADE FRANKROULETTEGO HOGWILD,THATWAY*

IT'S QUITE A STORY.'TO MAKE IT SHORT

FIVE OF HIS BROTHERSDIED TONIGHT.TRYINGTO KEEP ORINBLAISE'S NEWWILL HIDDEN...

THE WILL LEAVESEVERYTHING TOYOU AND ANDYJOHNSON.

'THAT KISS TOLD ITBETTER THAN WORDS ^

L COULD I RECKON,r LITTLE SISTER...RANCH OR NO RANCH,ANDY JOHNSON'S THERICHEST MAN I KNOW'

GREAT LAW MENOF THE OLD WEST1he lilartyrofMilene

.Their cook was in the jug, and the

camp was wild. With their mouths fullof dust and cussing, the cowboys of thetrail herd snatched their ropes. On therun-over heels of their buckeroo bootsthey bow-legged to the rope corral anddabbed their strings on trail-wearycayuses. They were mad. No flea-bit-ten Kansas town marshal was going tojail THEIR cook and keep their camphungry. Not on your tintype!Down Texas Street they swept like a

living tornado. Yell after yell, shotafter shot, ripped upwards into thedusty air. At the log-and-sod jail theyskidded to a halt. Cutting a horse ortwo loose from the nearest hitch-rail,they picked up log, posts ond oil. Withthe rail as o battering ram, they drovein the jail door.

In two minutes they were out ogain

-with their colored cook and the townmarshal who had jailed him. Theywere in good humor now. The rights of

the case-meant nothing. They had theirdqrkyand the marshal could go jumpin the watering trough!Whooping their triumph, they gal-

loped outof town, guns whanging. Thistime their targets were some posters

warning that the carrying of firearmswithin town limits was forbidden!

In the office of Mayor Henry stooda black-haired, blue-eyed young manwith strong, likeable features and anIrish smile. His voice was low, clear,and courteous.

"I understand you may be needing atown marshal. Mayor," he said. "I'dlike to apply. I'm Tom Smitii, marshalof Kit Carson, Colorado."

Mayor Henry returned Smith's clear,friendly look, frowning. He thought heknew men. And Smith didn't appear tobe the type of man who could controlthe human chaos that was Abilene.Tom Smith might get along all right asmarshal of the Colorado town, butAbilene was a volcano of vice, murder,ond genera! lawlessness. For marshal itneeded a famous killer to terrorize thebad mennot a quiet-spoken, friendlyfellow like Smith.

"I'll think it over. Smith," said themayor.Tom went back to his job in Colorado.

And Abilene went from bad to worse.A marshal, however grim his record,lasted in that town less than a week. Apair of them with excellent reputationsfor bravery, came to look Abilene overand left on the next train

!

Mayor Henry wos stumped. In des-peration he sent a message to Smith,He had a feeling that Smith didn't

realize how poor an insurance risk amarshal of Abilene would be. So hewarned the youth from Colorado fbtook things over well before deciding.

Smith came, and looked thoroughly.There was no exaggerating the bad-ness of Abilene. It was the wickedestof all the wild frontier towns. Satisfiedthat he knew the worst, Smith foundthe mayor and renewed his application.The first move to make, he suggest-

ed, would be to take away everybody'sfirearms. He believed he could takethem away one at a time, without anyhelp.Mayor Henry stared in unbelief, but

finally he swore Thomas J. Smith in astown marshal. So certain was he thatSmith would be murderedone peaceofficer against a thousand lawlessmen!that his conscience botheredhim considerably.Somehow the fact that Smith was

the new marshal had spread already.A notorious bully called Big Hank boredown on him. The conversation be-tween them ran something like this:

"You're the gent who thinks he'srunning this town now, huh?""Why, yes, in a way. I've been ap-

pointed marshalHere's my badge . .

.

By the way, you know the town ordi-nance against carrying arms, don'tyou? I'll have to ask you, sir, to giveme your pistol."

While talking, Smith had kept hissteady, blue-eyed gaze on Big Hank'sface. And lie had moved in so closethat Hank_ couldn't draw his gun.

Smith's outstretched hand would have,gripped the weapon, with a turn of hiswrist.The bully blustered and swore. He*

jumped back. But Tom Smith's fiststruck even quicker, with all his weightbehind it. Big Hank went to sleep. Hewoke up, disarmed and on his way outof Abilene. He didn't return.

Big Hank's successor was a bad mannamed Wyoming Frank. Well liquoredand armed with two guns, he wenthunting for the new marshal. He foundSmith walking down the street, quiteunarmed. In a gunfighter's crouch, hefaced the marshal and defied him totake his Weapons. He swore he'd killany mam-who'tried to.

Marshal Smith said that would bevery foolishbecause everybody hadto obey the law. Again, empty-handed,he pressed close to the would-be killer.Without taking his gaze from the des-perado's eyes, he backed the man intoa saloon and knocked him out. Twentymen watched the bad man fall.There was a moment of awed silence.

Then a man pushed forward toward thepeace officer, gun in hand. He was thebarkeeper, and he held his gun butt tothe front, by the barrel."As long as you are marshal of

Abilene," he said, "I won't be needingthis."

Every man in the saloon followed thebarkeep's lead. From that day on,every store and saloon and public placeprovided racks for checking their cus-tomers' weapons. And in Abilene townmen went unarmed. Good men and bad'paid tribute to the unselfish, unflinch-ing courage of their fellow citizen.Marshal Tom Smith.

Six months later this much lovedand admired young officer met a tragicend,' in the line of duty. While helpinga friend arrest a murderer, Tom Smithwas brutally killed.

But today o monument stands inAbilene, Kansas, to his memory, stat-ing that he "Died a martyr to duty,Nov. 2, 1870A Fearless Hero ofFrontier Days, Who in Cowboy Chaos,{Established the Supremacy of taw."

I RECKON I BEEN ROPED, ANO IT AW'T ABIT Of USE TO STRUGGLE! liWME SEE -I T&P YOU HOW KEP FLAME BSOK. DOWN;7HE WILD WOKE CDflML ANP LEP THHUNDRED RJZ2- TAIL'S TO f^EEDOM.'

HE HOPED FIX ANOTHEB 6ISHT OF BSD FUME,the hobse no m hao evee toe -

A LOVE LIKE JIMMIE'S FOB BED FIAME HAS ASWMGE POIVES, 50METMES A RWES TOMH THINGS HAPPEN; IT WORKED THAT

WAY WITH JM; ONE C*Y-

-ws a lis, starved 100am]HOR56 IVI7H A RUST-RED HIDEAHD A IVHITE A1ANE ANP TAIl-

THE POOR CRITTER IMS HALFDEAD, SOT HE TRIEP TO GET

H/S LEGS UNPEe NUt

SOA1EWIV, JIMIE6AHKS KVEtV THATTHIS tOOH, SICK WRECKOF A HOUSE IVAS AllTHAT IVAS IEFT OF THEGREAT STAli/ON, BBP

FIAME-

THEN HIS STRENGTH GAVE OUT-H roue p wee turn A wanUKE A MAN IH PAIN WOULD-

Ws kjuep do jimmies cheeks - there ms0 CHANCE IN A HUNDRED THAT HE MIGHT SAVESEP FUME'S LiFl IF HE OPERATED OK THAT BIG

: SIVOllEN TONGUE-

ACjCrS TOOfN W BECOME lAtBEPDED IN THEHOME'S TONGUE, mtlCH HAP SIV0U.EN UNTIl BIGREP CCVIDNT EAT OR PRINK- HCP BEEN THAT HAT

FOR MAYBE TIVO WEEKS-

-AND U'D CLOSE TO EEP'S FLANK $D THfYCOW,D WELP KEEP EACH OTHEK IWEM - OTHES-WSE K?TW gflr AND HOfTSE WOULD FJWSflgLY

HAVE CAUGHT PMVMONlA-

IN THE MOeNlNG EVERYTHING WAS COINEDH/TW $NOW! UP TILL NOW, JIMMlE HAD BSHTOO SUSY TO FEEL COLO OH HUNGRY-

'^fV'fc) BUT HE KNEW IF HE

~J? ~"\ DIDHT SHOOT SOMEEl JIE4T, HE'D HWET0C^l 4 P ABtHtXM WS POTESTA' /> $"^1^ TO THE WOLVES M7A *. COUSAKS - THE RIPE '

f, HOME AND BACK^A K ' K WOULD TAKE A IVHOLE1 Ru fl\ MY"

Jpf^V

Br^- *U|

P? ^p?

~~-

- Twi

gY^lpP ftAS IT MNf[> OUT, JM ife^fefcAiDIDN'T HAVE TO HUNT ^^^jSPlFARM COIVAND HEK CALF% 3S&ARE0 W5/LVTft*C(iS>- ^SsSSti*jJ|t ^ k

WHBN HE REACHED 1UE COW, HE SAW THATHIS BULLET HAD ONLY (BRMED HBR HEAD ANDHAD STUNNED (VlTHOUT /NJUGlNt? HE* -

-AND ONCZ FOS RED FLAME'S ; 7H (WiP HORSf SNOUTEDAT THE SMELL OF M/LK- SOT HE FINALLY DRANK fT-

HI5 STAgVEP BODY HSEDEO SUCH FOOD

-

POg THE NEXT H'EEJi. Jm\l LIVED CNGAME AND MILK - BRlHGWe MILK AND

6RA5S 10 gg gP AT THE CAMP-

THE STALLION. COULD STAND Ofi H'S FBT NOW,,

6JT HE WAS TOO WEAK TOGO FAG, AND HE DID iNOT TRY. HIS 6/6, WILD HEART HAD FOUND A

HUMAN FRIEND AT LAST?-

ONE CAY JIMTOOK ALONG-CHANCE- HEPULLED HIM-SELF UP ONSD FLAME'SBACK, TALKING

IDSOOTHIWTOTHE.HOESE-NCTWNS HAPPENED!

tnece was nothing that could wist e@ gANks,THOUGH- IVMEN HIS ClOECS TiXD Him IT WAS NOUSE HUNTlNS FOC JfAWlE Of US CORPSE ANY

L0N3EK, ED W/D AT THEM j? P WOULDN'T GIVE UP HOPE OF JIMMlE KINGSTILL ALIVE - BUT HE HAP TO SET 50ME EF5T-

THAT EVENING OUT Of TN SUNSET, CAME KlDING ABOY ON A FLAME- CEP HORSE WTH WHire MANE

and tail; jimmie on /?ed flame-

jyJL^JS^ J" /%** fi

SI

when the soy kjtoff, Bis wo keauiyHUGSEP THE UF OUT OF HIM

JIMMlE (VANNED p MOTTO COME Nft $ RP-THE MG OFTHE WILD HOESES WAS 5TILL AN ENEMY

OF EVEgY HUMAN 'CEPT ONE

TO PROTECT VISITOR ED BJILT A SPECIAL COffCALFOE RED FLAME - AS LONG AS 0=D LfV'EP ONTHE KANCH, ONLY JIMMfE WAS ALLOWED NEAR HIM

BUT- CHARLEY! HOWV^HOW LONG \ - WELL -LONG DID RED FLAME) THAT'S A^OTMES STOKv

JK