Il vagone blindato

Palmer, a seasoned criminal, has assembled a team of five specialists: a cold-blooded killer, a Native American with perfect aim, a safecracker, and two cattle thieves. His goal is to carry out an unprecedented heist in the town of Leyton, in Locust Valley, where a massive herd of longhorns has gathered, awaiting a buyer who is about to arrive with the money for the purchase.

Zagor and Chico on their way back from Saint Louis (see previous story) happen to be passing through and meet an old friend, Captain Durrell, who is leading a small military detachment assigned to escort the train carrying the funds for the cattle deal. Through Durrell, Zagor is also introduced to Mister Steel (nicknamed for his steel prosthetic arm and iron eye patch), the man who owns half of Locust Valley and the railway company.

That night, Palmer’s gang provokes a stampede of the herd through the town’s streets and manages to steal the train with its armored car, but Zagor gives chase. After a fierce battle aboard the moving train, Zagor is defeated and left for dead as the bandits escape.

When they reach the ghost town that was supposed to be their hideout, the robbers are ambushed and slaughtered by a group of men led by Fraser, Mister Steel’s right-hand man. The entire robbery was orchestrated by Steel himself, whose business empire was not as solid as it seemed. Only Palmer is spared, as he was secretly working with Steel all along.

Rescued by Chico, Zagor returns to Leyton and unexpectedly encounters Palmer, recognizing him as one of the robbers. Upon discovering the involvement of Mister Steel and Fraser in the heist, Zagor and Chico are captured. However, Zagor manages to free himself, defeat the villains, recover the stolen money, and bring Mister Steel to justice.