Hopalong Cassidy #6

Hopalong Cassidy arrives at the Twin River Rodeo to find his old friend Tex Reilly suddenly thrown from a steer and left unconscious, leading the sheriff to suspect foul play. When Tex’s blood reveals traces of a fast-acting poison, Hopalong begins to unravel a conspiracy tied to a secret land deal and a rivalry for the thousand-dollar championship prize. As he digs deeper, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse unfolds—where every ride could be a final act.

A young man claims to predict the weather by instinct, baffling a curious onlooker who wonders if he reads the sky or animal behavior. When pressed for details, the boy admits his forecast comes not from nature, but from hearing it on the radio — a simple, humorous twist on rural superstition.

Hopalong Cassidy investigates the murder of Bronko Jim, who was shot in the back as he approached his cabin, leaving no footprints and no obvious killer—especially since his supposed enemy, Grumpy, was locked in jail. Hopalong uncovers a clever trap involving a rifle rigged with a rubber band tied to the door, revealing a hidden assassin who used the setup to kill from afar.

Pistol Packin' Patty boasts about having Hopalong Cassidy’s picture on her wall, claiming it’s her inspiration—until he arrives and mocks her for it. She insists he take it down, only for him to reveal the picture was covering a hole, leaving her flustered and the joke on her.

In the dusty town of Twin River, Hopalong Cassidy races to stop a pair of outlaws who’ve stolen gold and fled across the border, only to discover they’ve hidden the loot in his own home. As he and his deputy Mesquite track the criminals, a tense game of cat and mouse unfolds when the fugitives return, believing they’ve found a safe place to hide—right under Hopalong’s nose.

Hopalong Cassidy, visiting the city, stumbles upon a circus and is baffled to see bears performing tricks like riding bicycles—something that threatens his livelihood as a bear hunter. He protests to a crowd, declaring it unfair that city folk are teaching bears such skills when he relies on hunting them in the wild.

Hopalong Cassidy and Whitey Whiskers find themselves at the outskirts of Twin River, where Whitey panics over having only one bullet for two snakes. Hopalong calmly takes the rifle and recounts a wild tale of surviving a horde of Indians by firing a single bullet that ricocheted through multiple targets. As Whitey boasts about his legendary shot, the moment is interrupted when he accidentally hits the tree instead of the snakes.

When Mesquite, a self-proclaimed tightrope walker, takes up photography, his latest project accidentally draws attention to a pair of mail robbers targeting stagecoaches. Hopalong Cassidy soon realizes Mesquite’s seemingly harmless hobby has uncovered a clever ruse — and now the sheriff must unravel the mystery before the next coach arrives.