Lash LaRue Western #5

Wagonwheels insists his donkey’s constant braying isn’t just noise—it’s ambition, as the stubborn beast aims to become hoarse from shouting. When a frustrated townsfolk demands he stop the racket, Wagonwheels defends his donkey’s lofty goal with deadpan pride, leaving the listener stunned by the absurd logic.

Lash LaRue wakes up disoriented, missing his horse and with no memory of how he ended up in the wilderness. He sets out to return to Prairie Gulch, where he hopes to regain his memories, only to be confronted by a man claiming to be his nephew Dan and a mysterious doctor with a shocking diagnosis. As Lash’s past begins to unravel, he must uncover the truth before he’s trapped in an asylum for crimes he doesn’t remember committing.

Dusty rushes home in a panic, claiming his roof is sick with nerves—only to reveal he’s throwing a surprise birthday party for himself. When a confused townsman presses him for details, Dusty’s increasingly absurd explanations about his car and a lion tamer’s circus job lead to a series of laughable misunderstandings.

In "The Rustler's Haven," roving marshal Lash LaRue tracks a gang of cattle rustlers led by Big Hutch, only to find himself outmatched and forced into a desperate fight to save a captured rancher. As he pursues the outlaws through the rugged terrain of Pulver City, Lash must outwit both the rustlers and their traps, including a hidden pit and a stolen horse, all while racing to stop them before they vanish into the wilderness.

Lash LaRue investigates the murder of a stranger carrying a forged note claiming to deliver diamonds to Monte Gilbert, leading him from Tuxton Point to River Head City and back to a hidden shack by the river. As he pieces together the trail, he uncovers a web of deception involving a stolen shipment, a false identity, and a pair of criminals who used the murder to steal the gems. The mystery deepens when he finds a man tied up in the shack—and realizes the real danger is just beginning.

Molasses Mouth decides to break his habit of talking to himself by forcing himself to answer his own questions in French—since he doesn’t understand French, he’ll eventually stop talking altogether. The plan seems foolproof, but his confidence in the scheme is already raising eyebrows.