On a nice day the brothers John and Buck Cannon found on their land a rifle. They dismounted to look the weapon a bit better. Buck had it upside down and looked at the trigger.
“John, what do think will happen when I pull the trigger?”, he asked.
“I wouldn’t know. You can at least try it”, his older brother replied.
Buck pulled the trigger and the brothers heard an ear-splitting bang. A moment later there sounded loud yelling and cursing.
“I believe that ór you have hit someone ór made him enormously angry”, John said careful.
“Anway: now we know that you can shoot behind you with this rifle. As long as you hold it upside down”, was the reaction of Buck.
Then the brothers heard footsteps behind them.
“Give that rifle here”, they heard saying.
John and Buck turned around and saw four escaped prisoners.
“Why would I give you this rifle to you?”, was the question of Buck.
“Because we are the Dalton brothers. I am Joe, and that are my brothers Jack, William and Averell. Wij zijn the scare of the wild west”, replied Joe.
“You are the scare of the wild west? Rather the fun of the wild west” , reacted Buck.
“What are you doing here anyway? You happen to gbe on my land”, said John.
“We heard about that special rifle. So we broke out to find that weapon. For this time I forgive you for blowing me 6 meters into the air if you give me that rifle now”, said Joe.
“What must four bees with a different rifle?”, asked Buck asked dry.
The Daltons looked at each other and didn’t understand what Buck meant.
“Who are those 4 bees?”, asked Jack.
“You are those 4 bees. Seeing as you are wearing clothes with black/yellow stripes and we don’t. Buck, are you coming?”, asked John.
Joe was besides himself and yelled, “That rifle is ours!”
“I am coming and take my toy rifle along. Sorry bee: here is the rule: what Buck Cannon finds belongs to Buck Cannon”, he replied.
The Cannon brothers walked to their horses and mounted on. Joe Dalton was só angry with Buck that he became as red as a tomato.
“Joe, it is a pity that you are my brother. You look as red as a tomato. I am hungy”, reacted Averell.
Now Joe became more red than he already was. A second later they were fighting.
John and Buck watched and John said, “They can get on with each other well though.”
“That is so but you must not place dynamite near them. Not they will never set the Thames on fire”, reacted his brother.
“They are rather the dynamite”, said John.
Before the Daltons could react the Cannon brothers had rode away wíth the rifle.
At the High Chaparral Billy Blue Cannon, Manolito Montoya and his sister Victoria were looking forward to the return of the Cannon brothers. They didn’t know yet what they had found. But that didn’t take long. John and Buck rode laughing upon the yard.
“Your father and uncle seem to have a lot of fun”, Manolito said to Blue.
“Uncle Buck must have found something again”, reacted Blue.
“Hello jongens”, John said while he dismounted.
“Mano, Blue Boy, you never guess what we have found”, said Buck said laughing.
“We can’t and won’t do that either. Just tell us”, replied Manolito.
“I have a rifle where you can shoot behind you as long as the weapon is being held upside down. I tried it out and almost blew a human bee to the other world”, Buck explained.
He dismounted and got his new toy. Blue and Manolito looked at the strange rifle.
“Buck, give a demonstration”, said Manolito.
The youngest Cannon brother looked behind him to see if everything was safe and fired then a bullet. This time nothing happened.
“A fun weapon to pester your opponents. Buck, I would keep that rifle very well if I was you”, said Manolito.
“I do that too. I ain’t going to bed without my new rifle”, said Buck.
Meanwhile the Daltons had calmed down again and Joe had made up another plan.
“We go after those 2 brothers and steal that rifle. That rifle is ours and not of that brutal cowboy”, said Joe.
“Aren’t we gonna eat?”, asked Averell.
“Shut up Averell”, his brothers said at the same time.
They walked in the trail of the horses of the Cannon brothers but it didn’t go as fast as they wanted.
The poor lonesome cowboy Lucky Luke had gotten a telegramm once again with a for him well known message.
“Let me guess: the Daltons have escaped and you must catch them again”, his loyal horse Jolly Jumper said.
“Jolly, the Daltons have escaped and I must catch them again”, replied Lucky Luke.
“If I didn’t think so. Hopefully that living flea shop hasn’t come along”, Jolly Jumper sighed.
“I don’t know where Joe Dalton is but Ran Tan Tan shall be around”, said Lucky Luke.
Jolly Jumper wanted to complain again but didn’t get the chance for it because Lucky Luke mounted on and rode in the direction of Tucson, Arizona.
That night the Daltons reached the High Chaparral.
“We just break in and steal that rifle”, said Joe.
“Joe, do you know where that rifle is? Maybe they it have hidden it well”, replied Jack.
“We just search each room. Then we surely will find”, said Joe.
“I will look through the kitchen”, Averell suggested.
“It won’t be there anyway”, reacted Joe.
The brothers didn’t take Pedro in account who was standing guard. When he saw the four coming he directly gave alarm. The Cannons and Manolito ran outside with their rifles and the hands Sam and Joe Butler were there. John and Buck recognized the visitors right away.
“If that aren’t our 4 escaped bees”, said Buck.
“Joe, that is that cowboy who almost shot you to the moon”, said Averell.
“Shut up Averell”, said Joe.
“Mr Cannon, we can use them well for the special chores”, said Sam.
“That is a good idea”, John said smiling.
“You go with me”, Sam said to the 4 Daltons.
Strange enough they walked along being obedient with the foreman. In the bunk house stood in a corner 4 bad beds. Sam looked at his brother Joe and he understood him at once.
“Boys, these are the Daltons and they are working here temporary. That’s why they get the best beds in the corner”, Sam spoke to the other hands.
The Daltons flew to the beds but their joy was very short lived. The beds had such bad quality that the brothers sagged through it when they went to lie on it. This to great hilarity of the others. Joe Dalton vowed for revenge at the hands.
Meanwhile the Cannons had gone inside again.
“When the smallest one gets hold of my mijn rifle it is: rifle, where are you going with that dwarf?”, Buck said cheerful.
Everybody laughed and went to bed.
The next day the Daltons had to do all the nasty chores. During an unauthoritzed break they made up a plan to get away.
“Boys, as soon as we get the chance we go into the ranch house and look for that rifle”, said Joe.
“But first we are gonna eat”, said Averell.
“Shut up Averell”, his brothers said at the same time.
Buck and Manolito were riding a while when they ran into a stranger.
“Morning. Can we help you?”, Buck asked when they had stopped.
“I am Lucky Luke. I look for 4 escaped prisoners in black/yellow clothes”, said Lucky Luke.
“That must be those 4 bees. I am Buck Cannon and that is Manolito Montoya. Those four are with us at the ranch because the smallest wants to have a rifle of mine. You can shoot with it upside down”, Buck told.
“The fact that Joe wants to have that rifle is interesting”, said the visitor.
“We keep them well at work”, said Manolito.
“That is then very difficult because the only thing the Daltons can do are robbing banks”, Lucky Luke told.
Buck and Manolito looked at each other and they thought the same thing.
“Why don’t you stay at our ranch for a few days?”, Buck asked inviting.
“Alright. Then I can take the Daltons along to prison”, was the answer of the visitor.
Buck and Manolito turned their horses and brought their new friend to the ranch.
Sam was at loggerheads with Joe again. Joe had discovered the hammock and when nobody saw what he was doing the smallest Dalton made his nest happy as a king in the hammock.
“What a life. Nobody is looking for us”, he chuckled.
He dreamed away until a voice said, “Are you doing nothing again? Get up, you must clean the stables.”
Joe opened his eyes and looked into those of the foreman.
“You again. I must rest of all that hard work”, replied Joe.
“You rest at night. Get up withy your lazy body”, said Sam.
When Joe remained lying the foreman took a more drastic measure. Sam gave the hammock a large swing and Joe flew out of it. Exactly at that moment Buck, Manolito and Lucky Luke saw Joe flying through the air.
“Oh no, now I see them flying around”, Jolly Jumper remarked.
Joe on his turn got the scare of his life when he saw his arch-enemy. The outlaw landed just in front of Jolly Jumper on the ground.
“Hello Joe. Are you trying to reform your life?”, Lucky Luke said cheerful.
“I come to retrieve my rifle. And that one there had stolen it”, replied Joe replied while he pointed at Buck.
“I haven’t stolen that rifle from you but found it honestly. By the way, what must a smurf of your length do with such a rifle?”, asked Buck.
“Nobody makes Joe Dalton out for a smurf!”, Joe said angry.
Then Joe got picked up again and thrown by Sam into the water trough. Buck, Manolito and Lucky Luke dismounted and walked to the water trough.
“Sam, how many times I have said to you that the water trough may not be used as a bath?”, asked Buck.
“Yes, but I had to calm him down for a second”, replied Sam.
Joe climbed out of the water trough and walked away growling.
That evening Buck showed his rifle to Lucky Luke. The poor lonesome cowboy was impressed of the weapon.
“So everything has started because this rifle?”, asked Lucky Luke.
Buck nodded and said, “Joe thinks that it is a special rifle but in the meantime I have discovered that it is just an ordinairy rifle.”
“Shall we take the Daltons in?”, asked the visitor.
Buck was always in the mood for that. They went to the living room where the others were.
Lucky Luke began to explain, “Joe Dalton wants to have the the new rifle of Buck and he shall get it too. At least that is what he thinks. But it is forbidden to have weapons in jail. So on that crime I arrest him and his brothers.”
The Daltons were complaining about their new adrress.
“We must work but get nothing to eat”, Averell complained.
“It is more fun in prison”, replied William.
“They are slave-drivers”, said Jack.
“We grab that rifle of Buck and after that we beat it”, Joe decided.
His brothers agreed.
The next morning Buck came with his rifle to the smallest Dalton.
“Er Joe, you may have my rifle because you have worked só hard. Are we friends again?”, asked Buck.
“We have never been friends and will never become that too. Just give me that rifle”, replied Joe.
Buck gave the weapon but when Joe wanted to get it the rancher hit him to Lucky Luke who had tied up the other Daltons with a rope already.
“What a nasty trick. I will get you one day Buck Cannon”, Joe yelled.
“I will come to see you in prison”, Buck said smiling.
While Lucky Luke and the Daltons left the High Chaparral John said, “I don’t think that they will ever show up here again.”
“Especially not when Sam and I are still here”, his brother reacted.