Already up and about their chores, Stony, Blackie, and Link were preparing to ride back out to Blue Creek to ride herd right after breakfast. “Looks like the cows came to us, instead of the other way around,” Blackie observed casually. “Looks that way, don’t it?” Stony all...
To Joel McAllister, the town looked less hospitable than it did when he had seen it before. He reminded himself that the people of Silver City had no knowledge of the murderous war waging between Ronald Beauchamp and the McAllisters. He didn’t expect much cooperation from the sheriff, but as he h...
This was not a thought that often occupied Martha Vinings’s mind at this particular time in the day. But it was a thought that had certainly come back to haunt her time and again since her marriage to Robert Vinings. Being of practical mind, she did not waste time lamenting the fact that the Robe...
Halfway down the ridge, Joe, his dark Morgan gelding, lingered, casually munching the short grass left by a dryer-than-normal summer. Cole watched the wagon for a few moments more before shifting his gaze back toward his horse. One of the best trades I ever made, he though...
Every man was accounted for, even the teamsters, with only the few cuts and bruises usually associated with the rough saloons in Medicine Bow. Among those who did have enough money to buy more than a couple of drinks was Jake Bradley. Complaining of a bad head, he pulled his horse up beside Luke’...
Finding the corral empty and the doors locked, he went to the small house behind the stable where Smiley lived, but he found no one at home. Knowing where to look next, he went to the saloon and found the little man seated at a table with two other men. “Hey, I thought you was gone,” Smiley calle...
He stood on the wood stoop for a few moments, evaluating the coming day as he looked out toward the east to catch the first rays of light on the silent prairie. First light, it was his favorite time of day, while the post was still and peaceful, before the first blasts from the bugler. He glanced...
Lucy called out to Coldiron. The big man was a couple of dozen yards down the creek where he had been marking off a site for the cabin they would build. Always ready when called to supper, he sank his hatchet in a small stump and came at once. “Hmmm,” he sighed when he app...
Saying good-bye to the river, they continued west toward the Bozeman Pass. Luke tried to hide it, but Cade could readily see that his friend was getting a little anxious as the end of their journey approached, for he urged Cade to continue on past their usual time to camp. Darkness was already de...
