Ralph Compton

"Matt Wheeler was a legend in the West. His fast gun and dedication for justice made him a sought-after lawman for hire, but all of that vanished one dark night. Matt was convicted of murder for killing the man who killed his woman. Now he's spent his time in jail and is looking to even the score against the men who set him up"--FantasticFiction.com.

His wife is gone to tuberculosis, his reputation was lost in the war, most of his life has already passed by, and now even his horse has been taken by colic. All Carpenter has left are the men from his Army company. During the journey to California to reunite with them, he strikes up a friendship with Rafael Silva, an educated man making for the same town to start up a rifle factory. When they arrive, Carpenter's former brothers-in-arms actually try...

"Riding into the town of Smoky River on a mangy mule, Dane looks as broken down as his old mount. His Stetson is ragged, his boots are tied together with leather thongs, and he wears a Colt Army revolver with exactly three bullets. He wouldn't know what to say if you asked him where he got the gun, or how he learned to shoot it so well. He doesn't know if Dane is his first name or his last. Something happened that cost him much of his memory, and...

"Over the past twenty years, William "Bull" Kelly led legendary cattle drives, acquiring a reputation as one of the best ramrods in Texas. But after years of working for other people, Kelly decides to run cattle on his own, with his five sons. Everything starts off fine, but when a group of cattle thieves try to stampede the herd, some of Kelly's sons are hurt in the melee. The rustlers quickly find out that Kelly isn't called "Bull" because he insists...

"In Omaha, Tom Calvert boards a riverboat to play high-stakes poker, but accusations of cheating cause some serious trouble, and a deadly gun battle ensues. Tom is injured and knows that his enemies will be looking for him, so he reluctantly accepts a bargain from young stowaway Asher. In exchange for Calvert teaching him gunslinging skills, Asher will guide them to a possibly mythical town of peace and plenty called Friendly Field. To get there they...

"After struggling for years to work a raw-patch ranch in the arid flatlands of Texas, young Mitchell Newland learns that his herd of scrubby range cattle will fetch ten times their local price if they're driven to Montana. He strikes a one-sided deal with the devil, neighboring rancher Corliss Bilks, to back his play with cattle, men, and horses. The trail brims with hellish hardship: prairie fire, stampede, flooded rivers, hailstorms, rattlers, sickness,...

"England Dan Rutledge and his partner John Cooley have worked their claim for a year and are barely eking out a living. When Cooley shows up with a map of the abandoned Irish Lord Mine he drunkenly bought off a shady cowboy, England Dan is sure it's a complete fraud. After all, no one knows what happened to the most valuable gold mine in the Superstition Mountains after a banshee frightened off the last owner. But when England Dan gets a good look...