Rustler's Trail

Eighth in the Tales of the Old Wild West series by prolific western author Doyle Trent.
In the tradition of the John Wayne classic western films and legendary television series of Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

The Wild West. If the elements, rattlers, coyotes, and Indian's didn't kill you...the person sitting next to you in the saloon just might...just for the hell of it. This series is presented as self-contained standalone story novels that do not have to be read in any particular order. It gives readers an entertaining glimpse into what individuals from all walks of life encountered as they traversed the untamed western landscape seeking fortune, glory, a new start, or keeping one step ahead of the law behind them.

AMBUSH TRAIL
Tim Higgins knew the going would be tough, but he didn't know how tough...until a bullet sang through his hat brim. 100 head of cattle had disappeared from the HL spread and Tim's pa had told him: Bring back the cattle or the money-or don't bother coming back. Tim had tracked the rustlers up into the Colorado high country when one of that scummy lot had darn near parted his hair with a .45 slug. Though Tim had never killed a man before, somehow doing away with one of those thievin' jaspers wasn't all that unsettling.

But the rustler's trail stopped at a train siding, and the steel rails led to Denver where Tim discovered that some high-stakes poacher in the Federal government was purloining more than sirloin. And when Tim came within a hairsbreadth of getting shot again he realized if he could manage to stay alive one more month, he'd live to be 21. But growin' old ain't easy when you're backtracking the bloody rustler's trail.