The reading room
Tom Mix Western #34
When a man named Lefty Gray is found dead with a gun in his hand, newspaper editor Forbes initially appears responsible, but Sheriff Jim Starr suspects murder. A ranchman named Monk Jekkers is arrested for assaulting Forbes, but Forbes discovers evidence proving Monk killed Lefty in self-defense during a stage robbery; Monk confesses, revealing Lefty had accused him of cheating on the split and attempted to shoot him first. The true mystery is solved when Forbes finds an indelible pencil mark on Lefty's suicide note—a mark that only appears on Monk's tongue, proving Monk wrote the false note to frame himself and protect his gang's stolen money and family. Tom Mix arrives at the doctor's office as the case concludes, and later intervenes when the stagecoach is robbed, chasing down the criminals and recovering the gold from Dead Rock.