Western Adventure

The frontier was no place to hang your hat if you were a coward or weakling, and sometimes even the strong and brave fell victim to the violence that stalked the land and plagued this new and untamed country. Such was the case with Sheriff Joe Stone and his family. Joe was a man’s man from his narrow-brimmed hat down to his tarnished iron spurs. He had a hickory spine and anvils for fists. A lawman for over twenty-five years, Joe Stone split his time as a Texas ranger and sheriff, keeping law and order in frontier towns all over the Texas territory.

They slaughtered his family. Killed his young bride. And ever since that tragic day, Nathan Stark has devoted his life to fighting the hostile tribes who massacred those he loved. As a civilian scout for the army, he's served with such famous commanders as Custer and Crook. He's battled against such notorious war chiefs as Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Among the fiercest natives of the untamed West, Nathan Stark is a living legend - one that must be destroyed.

This latest installment in Johnstone's series about frontiersman Jamie MacCallister finds the former gunfighter, now 50, leading a serene life of retirement in Colorado even as his sons are fighting on both sides of the Civil War. Summoned to Washington, Jamie is offered the position of chief scout for the Union by Lincoln himself. But though the rugged Westerner loathes slavery, he loves states' rights more and, after a meeting with Robert E. Lee, he signs up with the Confederacy as commander of a guerrilla band.

Business is booming in Chirichua Junction, on the edge of a great northern river basin. But with cattlemen lined up against sheep men, the land has turned into a war zone and the town constable is a dirty as they come. Fresh from a violent confrontation with a fellow manhunter, Frank Morgan is called to Chirichua Junction by his old Civil War commander - and arrives just as an angry rancher is taking the law into this own hands. Suddenly, good men and bad are poised to kill.

Kansas doesn’t want it. Neither does Texas. The 35-mile wide strip of land destined to become the Oklahoma panhandle is a place unlike any other on the frontier: with no laws, no rules and a powerful attraction for killers, looters and fugitives. Frank Morgan, a gunfighter feared by all and hated by some, has been warned to stay the hell out of "the strip." But warnings never did work well on Morgan. So when an ambush robs him of his heart’s desire and nearly takes his life and his would - be murderers take refuge in the strip, the die is cast....

The Civil War is over. The future of the American West is up for grabs. Any man crazy enough to lead a herd of Texas longhorns to the North stands to make a fortune - and make history. That man would be Nelson Story. A bold entrepreneur and miner, he knows a golden opportunity when he sees one. But it won't be easy. Cowboys and bandits have guns, farmers have sick livestock, and the army's got its own reasons to stop the drive. Even worse, Story's top hand is an ornery Confederate veteran who used to be his enemy.

After surviving a brilliantly plotted murder attempt, the richest man in San Francisco is looking to hire the best protection money can buy. Enter Matt Jensen, who, for the princely sum of $5000, agrees to escort millionaire John Gillespie and his very fetching daughter on a railway journey from Frisco to Chicago. There’s just one catch: The world’s deadliest killers are coming along for the ride....

Matt and Sam never could refuse a damsel in distress, so a whole coach load of lovelies, lead by the fetching Charity McKenzie, seems like a gift from heaven. But if it looks too good to be true, it usually is — and in short order the blood will start to flow. Matt and Sam rush in anyway and faster than you can say “soiled doves,” they’re up to their necks in trouble.

The war between the States has ended. Now, driven from Texas by carpetbaggers, former CSA Colonel Shamus O'Brien sets off for a new frontier - New Mexico. Here, where land is cheap, bandits shoot to kill, and rustlers rule the night, it takes more than one man to run a ranch. So he offers a partnership to his eldest son, Jacob, with equal shares going to his sons Sam, Patrick, and Shawn. Together, the brother's O'Brien will defend their homestead, the Dromore, in this violent, lawless land...and when necessary, administer their own brand of frontier justice.

It's hard country, but the pioneers of Fury (Population 112) are banding together to make it a home. With barren lands, blinding dust storms, drought, hostile Indians and violent bands of cutthroat outlaws against them, death is never far away. It's enough to make Jason Fury, whose father the town was named after, ride out for San Francisco. But a fiery young redhead named Megan McDonald keeps him Arizona bound - and just in time.

Hank Fallon used to be one of the best deputy marshals in the country. Then, he got framed for a crime he didn't commit. Got sentenced to 10 years in a federal penitentiary. And got out early for saving the life of the captain of the guards during a riot. When Fallon is released, a private detective is waiting for him. He wants to put Hank behind bars again - but this time, as an undercover agent....

Card-player-extraordinaire Poker Alice knows when hold 'em, when to fold 'em, and when to team up with master gunman Newt "Widowmaker" Jones. She's betting on Jones to protect her - and her money - on a treasure hunt in the California desert. Legend has it that a shipwreck is buried in the Salton sands. Some say it's a Spanish galleon that got stuck when the sea ran dry. Other says it's a Chinese junk full of pearls or a Viking ship filled with Aztec treasure. Either way, a lot of very mean and dangerously violent folks would kill to find it.

Having saved Sweet Apple, Texas from disaster, Matt and Sam decide to stay and help the new marshal break in his spurs — not to mention squeeze in a well-deserved vacation with the help of the lovely, spirited daughters of two feuding cattlemen. Quicker than you can say dosy do, Matt and Sam find themselves on the verge of a full-scale range war. But even worse trouble heads into town when an old foe shows up with hired killers masquerading as dry goods salesmen.

Once every year, Perley Gates and his brothers lead the Triple-G crew on its annual cattle drive. It’s a treacherous journey along the Great Western Trail, with a herd of 2,000 cows on one side and many opportunities for trouble on the other. This year, trouble shows up in the form of a beautiful young woman, her little baby, and her bizarre traveling companion — a colorful old cuss who goes by the name of Possom Smith. They’re heading to a settlement called Butcher Bottom, and risking their necks to get there.

After discovering six gold Roman coins buried in the mud of the Devil's Dyke, Barnabas Sackett enthusiastically invests in goods that he will offer for trade in America. But Sackett has a powerful enemy: Rupert Genester, nephew of an earl, wants him dead. A battlefield promise made to Sackett’s father threatens Genester’s inheritance. So on the eve of his departure for America, Sackett is attacked and thrown into the hold of a pirate ship.

Vulture City is home to a prosperous gold mine and every bad man in the Arizona Territory knows it. Nearly every stagecoach attempting to deliver the gold to the railroad at Maricopa has been ambushed on the trail - a trail known as the Gunpowder Express for the bullet-riddled bodies along the way. With gold piling up and a lack of volunteers to transport it, the mine owner hires Newt "Widowmaker" Jones to ride shotgun on the next stage.

Welcome to Ironhead Station, Indian Territory, where the train tracks end and the real action begins. The hell-on-wheels construction camp is the final destination for hard-drinking sinners, gamblers, and outlaws. And woe to the man who tries to clean it up. Morgan Clyde is a former New York City policeman and Union sharpshooter who lost everything in the Civil War. But he’s still got his guns and his guts. Some folks say he is meaner and tougher than the Devil himself. Which is why the owners of the MK&T Railroad hired Clyde for one hell of a job.

Chet Byrnes has built a ranching empire from the ground up. And he’s defended it with his sweat, blood, and a ragtag band of ranch-hand fighters. Now a beautiful young Spanish widow comes into Chet’s life, just as he starts off in search of a lost cattle drive. The search leads into the eye of a sprawling, violent storm. Chet and his men — and his seductive new woman — end up on a wild ride through Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, where authorities want to confiscate the beeves for trespassing.

Businessman Conrad Browning is desperate enough to hire his estranged father, quick-draw Frank Morgan, to neutralize the trouble plaguing his New Mexico railroad line. As the unlikely pair rides to the remote railroad site, they outshoot vengeful bushwhackers and hostile Apaches. But just as Frank and his son begin to bond, a criminal mastermind designs an evil plan to kill them both. And when a gorgeous young lady stumbles into their camp one night, they soon find themselves under her disarming spell.

Born and bred in the Texas Pandhandle town of Comanche Crossing, William "Wild Bill" Longley gunned down a dozen of its men in cold blood before he got around to the sheriff and deputy - so he could take over the job himself. Then he found the perfect sidekick in a vicious career criminal named Booker Tate.