Cactus Kid, The (Shonen Illustrated)

Introducing “Cactus” Sam (originally played by Rock Holmes in this chapter), a boy who loves milk so much that he changes the sign on his father, Chad‘s tavern to “milk hall” against his father’s wishes.  Although Cactus foils a plot by Bildarl to rig the town election, the tavern is nearly destroyed in the process and Chad agrees that a milk hall might be safer.

Sheriff Aggo stops by the hall for a cup of milk because he can’t drink alcohol while on duty.  Since he’s guarding the transport of public funds, he joins Mr. Cork and his daughter, who are off to the state assembly, on the stagecoach out of town.  However, some no good varmints have swapped out the regular horses and stage a robbery.  So it’s Cactus to the rescue… on the back of a buffalo!  The money, the hostages, and the stagecoach all arrive safely… Just not where they intended to.

Although Miss Alice Cork is saved by a stranger named Billy from her runaway horse, he is mistaken for his wanted older brother.  In fact, Billy has made off with his brother’s stolen loot and the elder sibling soon shows up at the milk hall looking for it.  Billy confesses to Cactus that he buried the loot beneath the tulip garden and a gunfight ensues.  Although he’s mortally wounded in the exchange, Billy presents Miss Cork with a tulip before he dies.  Cactus‘ superior gunslinging skills win the day and he turns the stolen loot over to the sheriff.  Far from being pleased, Alice is upset that Cactus has trampled all over her precious tulip garden during the fight.

It’s the long-awaited opening of the railroad.  However Bildarl, talks some Indians into attacking the railway line.  Cactus overhears the plot, but is captured by the Indians.  However, a well-placed udder and a bit of milk turns the tables and Cactus comes out victorious.

Gold rush fever grips the town, and despite Miss Cork’s pleas, the entire Cactus family is off to seek their riches.  Cactus is duped by some thugs into prospecting on private land and his father has to post bail for his son just before he’s hanged for trespassing.  Of course, Cactus stumbles across the plot to fool the townspeople and a fortuitous cup of milk has the bad guys quickly appearing before Judge Cactus.

After Mr. Cork bets the ranch on a horse race, Alice decides to enter and win on her favourite horse, Fasti.  However, when Fasti’s foal goes missing, she loses the will to run and Cactus sets off to find her. Although he inadvertently captures a wild horse and its foal it boosts Fasti’s spirits.  Meanwhile, Cactus is arrested after he is suspected of being involved in the robbery of the horse race prize money.  While Cactus mops up the bad guys and clears his name, Alice wins the race by riding the wild horse.

Chad‘s old friend Kerrigan shows up and reveals that Cactus is actually the son of a wealthy landowner in Tennessee and not Chad‘s biological son.  In his youth, Chad was a scoundrel and kidnapped Cactus as a baby but then ended up raising him as his own.  So, Kerrigan invites Cactus to accompany him to Tennesse and he eventually accepts the offer.  Although Alice sets off in pursuit, the stagecoach is attacked by Indians and the passengers must fight them off.  Cactus then intercepts a report on arms smuggling.

Cactus and Kerrigan cross paths with retired Civil War veteran Abner Doubleday, who is promoting the game of baseball.  However, a general lack of understanding of the rules by the players quickly turns the game into a shoot-out.  As Cactus and Kerrigan take off one step ahead of the law, Alice finally catches up only to get rounded up with the rest of the hooligans and lands herself in jail.

Having run out of food, Cactus and Kerrigan consider shooting their horses for food, but end up on the other end of the barrel.  Luckily they run across a wagon train of Quakers who are unwittingly transporting weapons for a gang of villains.  When the train is attacked by a band of Indians who are in cahoots with the villains, Cactus literally steals a baby’s bottle of milk and quickly dispatches the bad guys.

While passing through the city, Kerrigan hands Cactus an important bag and tells him to keep it safe.  Cactus fights tooth and nail to keep the bag from falling into the wrong hands, only to later discover it was Kerrigan‘s lunch.

Alice, mistaken for the gunslinging Cactus, is pressed into service at the Wayne Ranch to protect their cattle from being stolen by the neighbouring Ford Ranch.  Meanwhile, Cactus has been hired by the Ford Ranch to protect their cattle from being stolen by the Wayne Ranch.  The two are surprised to meet up for a showdown and, after a brief argument, Kerrigan clears up the whole mess by discovering that the cows from both ranches have been hoping the fence to go vist their friends on the other side.  Both Cactus and Kerrigan slip away in secret, leaving Alice alone at the reconciliation party.

Alice, once again trailing behind Cactus, runs afoul of Sheriff Heck Ben and is accused of cheating at cards.  Luckily she’s befriended and rescued by a local bar maid.  However, when Kerrigan literally loses his shirt at gambling, Cactus discovers that the crooked Sheriff is actually a weapons smuggler too and goes to confront him.  Alice, knowing it might come in handy, sends Cactus a bottle of milk, and the powered up Cactus forces the no-good Sheriff to sign his own arrest warrant before locking him up.

Heck Ben is busted out of jail by the barmaid.  Meanwhile Kerrigan introduces Cactus to a barber, with the barmaid bringing Alice in shortly after.  After their makeovers they are both unrecognizable.  When news of Heck Ben‘s escape reaches Cactus, he goes to investigate and gets himself locked in the jail cell. Alice sets off in pursuit.

Alice is captured by Indians who are in cahoots with Heck Ben.  Cactus gets out of jail and sets off after her.  He disguises himself as an Indian to infiltrate the camp, but is caught.

With Alice and Cactus tied to a stake, Heck Ben tells Cactus his real father’s name was Cork.  It seems Cactus and Alice are siblings.  With a little help from a rampaging buffalo and a well-placed udder of milk, Cactus saves the day and they return to town.  Kerrigan says his regretful goodbyes.

On the way home, Cactus and Alice are surprised by soldiers who want to thank them for catching the gun smugglers, and Privates Ramune and Kalpis provide the entertainment.  After a letter from home arrives for one of the soldiers and his mother asks him to hurry home, Cactus agrees to take his place. However the mother shows up and Cactus‘ cover is blown, and the Captain tells Cactus to accompany the mother back to the fort.

Cactus tries to get a good nights sleep but ends up in a battle with a rat.  When he brings in a cat to keep the rat away, its mewling draws the attention of mountain lions that overrun the fort.  Thinking it all a dream, Cactus is shot out of a canon and captures the Indian Chief Young Bull by accident.

A clan feud rages after the Fosters’ new railroad hurts the Parsley’s stagecoach business.  With Cactus caught in the middle, devises a plan that will see both sides thrive… if only he can find a way to get them to stop fighting long enough to hear it.

When the army doctor refuses to treat the sick Indian Chief Young Bull, Alice decides to nurse him back to health.  Then the captured Indians stage a revolt and overrun and destroy the fort, taking Alice hostage in the process.  Cactus infiltrates the Indian camp and rescues Alice, however the pair leave as the army attacks – wanting no part in the bloodshed.

The pair return home and confront Mr. Cork with the truth about Cactus‘ parentage.  Cactus then returns home to the milk hall, only to find it under the control of Heck Ben, and his mother and father held hostage.  Heck Ben blackmails Cactus into robbing the stagecoach and, with his parents in danger, Cactus can’t even confide in Alice.  However, hidden behind a curtain, she overhears the plot.

Alice attempts to rescue Cactus‘ parents, but is caught during the attempt.  With the clock counting down, Heck and his men get ready to hit the stagecoach, with Cactus acting as the “inside man”.  When the attack begins, he shoots Cactus in the hand and he drops the loot out the window to the waiting bandits.  Cactus then returns to the milk hall with his arms in bandages, however when one of Heck’s henchmen also returns in bandages, it’s revealed that Cactus is healthy.  In the ensuing shoot-out, Cactus rescues Alice and his parents.

Since it’s been revealed that Cactus is the son of Mr. Cork, Chad and his wife decide to leave town.  Mr. Bildarl steals a horse from Billy-the-Kid and sells it to Chad who then gives it to Cactus.  When Billy-the-Kid discovers Cactus with his horse, they have a duel to settle the matter.  Eventually Bildarl is revealed as the real culprit and Cactus and Billy-the-Kid part on amicable terms.

The Deputy Mayor of the town is in trouble with some Mexican bandits after he borrowed money and failed to repay it and tries to skip town.  Cactus gets caught up in the middle of the action when the movie camera he’s been using to shoot film captures the criminals red-handed.

When Cactus‘ favourite milk cow, Lil is shot and killed, Cactus notices she’s been branded with the Bildarl Ranch symbol.  Knowing Lil to be Mr. Cork’s property, he discovers that 50 cattle have been taken by rustlers.  Cactus then disguises himself and his horse by using Lil’s hide and, after discovering that Mr. Bildarl is the culprit behind the theft, forces a confession from him.  Cactus and Mr. Cork then ride off on the horse disguised as a cow, and bid the readers a fond farewell.

After ruffians overrun the town, and the school principle is fearful for the children’s safety, Sheriff Aggo sends Cactus a letter to invite him to become a teacher at the school.  As a role-model for the young children, Cactus is forbidden from using his gun – at least where the children can see him.

When Mr. All-Back decides to build a saloon right next to the school, Cactus goes to confront him.  He signs a contract agreeing to not interfere if the tavern is not build on the land next to the school.  In a bit of trickery, Mr. All-Back builds the saloon just a few feet off the ground but holds Cactus to the agreement. However, Cactus has the last laugh as he drags the saloon out into the desert and trades his contract for a ride back to town.

Lemon Kid arrives in town and duels it out with Cactus in an attempt to get his help on a treasure hunt.  Cactus reluctantly joins, but the two are captured by a group of vultures under the control of an old witch.  A descendant of the original owners of the treasure, the witch is also searching for the treasure.  In the end, she succeeds in securing the treasure, only to discover it is a worthless cache of ancient stone money.

When Cactus inadvertently wins prize money at a costume party, he decides to buy a horse.  However, the corral is robbed and Cactus joins Sheriff Aggo to hunt down the thieves.  The thief gets the drop on Cactus, but when he goes to shoot, he discovers that his gun is the prop from the costume party – it only shoots out a flag.  Cactus captures the bad guy and the horses are returned.

When Mr. Fugue, a millionaire who struck it rich prospecting for gold, is shot and killed, Lemon Kid becomes the prime suspect. He’s captured by Cactus and locked up in the jail alongside one of Mr. All-Back’s henchmen.  All-Back breaks him out of jail in exchange for Lemon Kid’s loyalty.

With the school in danger of being closed down, everyone is searching for the location of Mr. Fugue’s secret map to his gold mine.  Meanwhile, Lemon Kid, acting on Mr. All-Back’s orders, challenges Cactus to a duel.

During their duel, Lemon Kid reveals to Cactus that he’s solved the mystery of the real killer behind the murder of Mr. Fugue.  Cactus runs back to town and, with the help of Sheriff Aggo, gathers all the suspects together.

Mr. Fugues murderer is revealed to be Chris Hayworth, a wanted female felon… who was pretending to be Lemon Kid‘s girlfriend  to get close to the Fugue treasure.  Her secret revealed, she makes her escape.

Cornered and under fire, Ms. Hayworth calls out to Mr. All-Back for help.  When he rides out with a tied-up Lemon Kid behind him, all attention shifts to him and Ms. Hayworth quietly slips away. The furious final show-down ensues, with Cactus besting Mr. All-Back in hand-to-hand combat.  The town now liberated, Cactus leaves Lemon Kid in charge and heads for home.  However, upon reaching the Cork Ranch, he discovers Heck Ben has taken over, Mr. Cork is dead and Alice’s whereabouts unknown.

With the timely assistance of Billy-the-Kid, Cactus drives off Heck Ben and his cronies and is reunited with his adoptive father and mother.  After paying respects at Mr. Cork’s grave, Cactus sets off on a journey to search for Alice.

After checking train after train, Cactus finally finds where Alice has been tied to the tracks by Heck Ben.  Although he rescues here in the nick of time, the pair fall off the railway bridge and into a muddy bog.

Cactus and Alice escape from the muddy bog with a little unwitting help from Heck Ben‘s henchmen.  The pair then make a desperate dash onto a moving train and head for home.  Cactus returns just in time to prevent Billy-the-Kid from having a sip from a drink laced with poison.  The pair then rally the troops and set up a series of defenses on the Cork Ranch against the incoming attack from Heck Ben‘s posse.  Unfortunately the ranch is burnt to the ground in the process.

With Cactus chasing after Heck Ben and his gang, Billy-the-Kid heads off to the Fugue property for help.   After passing each other in a saloon, fate brings Billy-the-Kid, Lemon Kid and Alice together.