Bill Boyd Western #20

Bill Boyd wins a diamond horseshoe in a pitching contest and plans to sell it back to the jeweler to fund an orphanage—but when a thief breaks into his hotel room that night, Boyd discovers the horseshoe contains stolen money hidden inside. Now he must uncover the jeweler's connection to the crime and recover the funds before the culprit escapes. A true test of Boyd's quick wits and quick fists in this tale of charity, deception, and frontier justice.

Hammerhead's departure from his job as foreman of the Single Bar Ranch has everyone in town talking—especially when he reveals the reason behind his sudden exit. This quick-witted western humor tale delivers the punchline with a grin and a wink, proving that sometimes the best reasons for leaving are the funniest ones.

Windy, a bored farmhand stuck on the prairie, sees his chance for entertainment when an Eastern tourist pulls up in an automobile—the perfect mark for some tall tales about implausible farming methods. What starts as Windy spinning increasingly outrageous stories about plowing steep hillsides and shooting corn seeds with a shotgun quickly turns the tables when his gullible visitor realizes he's being made fun of and decides to teach the joker a lesson in humility.

Bill Boyd arrives at his old friend Bob Harris's ranch only to discover it's burned to the ground—and worse, he learns that both Harris and someone claiming to be Bill Boyd himself are being buried. Determined to uncover the truth behind this strange funeral and the suspicious fire, Boyd follows the trail of lies back to a man named Spike Wyatt, uncovering a plot for inheritance and murder. With the help of the local lawyer and sheriff, Boyd must stay alive long enough to prove his identity and bring the real killer to justice.

Buster has a field day needling Mr. Phelps, the most nervous greenhorn at the dude ranch, when the timid visitor frets about whether his horse is safe for the morning ride. Buster's reassurance takes a darkly funny turn that leaves poor Mr. Phelps gulping with worry.

Bill Boyd takes on a high-stakes case when a gold-carrying coach vanishes from the Red Coach Service Company—and discovers the theft is only the beginning of a tangled mystery involving a wounded stranger, a house on the move, and thieves desperately hunting for their hidden loot in Crest City. With some clever detective work and a well-timed frankfurter party, Boyd sets a trap to catch the culprits before they can retrieve their prize.