Weird Western Tales #34 (1976)

Johah Hex is in the process of capturing the Denbow Boys when he is attacked by Jason Leech and his bounty hunters. Leech pelters Hex on the head and proceeds to execute the Denbow boys without mercy. He drags their bodies to the local sheriff where he aims to collect the $3000 bounty. Hex suddenly shows up and accuses Leech of stealing his bounty. The sheriff stops the confrontation and offers Hex a $5000 reward poster for the capture of bank robber Dutch Rafferty. Hex keeps the poster for himself and starts to rough up Jason Leech for the $3000 that was rightfully his. Leech allows Hex to keep the money but has plans to follow him closely as he goes on the hunt for Dutch Rafferty. On his way out, Hex runs into a man named Oswald Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss is a publisher that offers Hex $1000 for the rights to his adventurous stories. Hex is hesitant at first but he finally agrees to allow Hotchkiss to accompany him on his journey to capture Rafferty. As the pair rides out of town, Hotchkiss inquires as to why Hex is bringing along a mule packed down with water canteens. Hex merely replies that he gets very thirsty and hates running out of drinking water. The pair tracks the Rafferty gang across the badlands for a full day until they finally they finally sneak up on hem and capture the gang. Hex takes possession of the gang but decides to take the long way back to town across the desert. He does this because he is sure that Leech and his bounty hunters are on their trail. Hotchkiss reasons that this was the reason why Hex brought all those water canteens. Hex and his party trek across the desert when one of the gang members suddenly passes away from a gunshot wound inflicted by Hex during a brief gunfight. Hex buries the outlaw in the desert along with a canteen that is three fourths full of water. They continue on their journey. At one point Hotchkiss disappears and starts a bonfire. Hex reasons that Hotchkiss is in league with Jason Leech and is using the bonfire to signal their location. It isn't long before Leech and his men arrive on the scene. They execute the Rafferty gang and they also shoot Hotchkiss in the process since he is no longer needed. Leech takes possession of the dead outlaws and leaves Hex stranded in the desert without his mule that is loaded down with water canteens. Hex makes his way back to the spot to where he buried the dead Rafferty gang member and digs out the canteen he had buried earlier. This allows him to continue his chase after Leech and his gang. In the meantime Leech discovers that the mule is loaded up with water canteen but the canteens are full of nothing but sand. Hex had outsmarted the bounty hunters and it isn't long before they collapse of thirst in the arid desert. Their bodies are soon buried by a vicious sand storm as Hex comes along to demand that Leech tell him what he did with the bank robber gang. Leech is unable to speak as he passes away. Unbeknownst to Hex, the dead bodies of the gang are buried in the sand nearby as he rides away empty handed.