Lash La Rue Western #53

"Range Talk" explores the language and lore of the American West through brief, informative vignettes. It defines terms like "bronco," "dogie," and "wrangler," offering a glimpse into the everyday vocabulary of early ranch life and rodeo culture.

Lash LaRue boards a train after learning the man in the green hat is a dope smuggler, only to discover a second suspect hiding in the same private compartment. As he tries to search the baggage without being caught, a surprise attack from the accomplice sends him tumbling between the cars—just in time to swing back aboard with his trusty whip.

Chuckwagon Gus tries to tease Shorty Brown about his height, leading to a playful debate about who’s better off—Slim Jones, who’s over six feet, or Shorty, who’s under. Gus insists Shorty must be at a disadvantage, but the joke takes a twist when the punchline reveals Shorty’s status on Boot Hill, leaving Gus stunned.

Dusty tracks down his runaway cousin Willie, convinced the boy stole his prized saddle, but his search is hilariously misguided—leading him to misinterpret every clue, including a bloodhound who vanished to get horseshoes. When he finally learns Willie’s at the lake, Dusty reveals his real motive: to “catch” him by being on his trail, which he insists will leave Willie “dirty” from the encounter.

Wagonwheels returns from a lavish dinner claiming the dessert was trumpets, sparking a round of playful banter with a smug rival. When challenged to a riddle about adding one to something and ending up with six or more, Wagonwheels delivers a clever punchline that leaves the other man baffled.

A prisoner, fed up with his time in jail, tries to talk his way out by criticizing the warden’s office in increasingly absurd detail. The warden, unimpressed by the insults, declares the prisoner won’t return to his cell—but instead sentences him to hang.

Lash LaRue tracks a gang of outlaws who kidnap his old friend, Squirty, to force a jailbreak, only to find the real danger isn’t the bandits—but their own desperate plan to use a dog named Mutty as a pawn in a scheme that backfires spectacularly. When the outlaws capture Squirty and use him to lure Lash into a trap, Mutty’s unexpected cleverness and a well-timed ruse involving a fake case of hydrophobia turn the tide in a wild, chaotic showdown.