
Glenn Crawford arrives at the remote Big O ranch as a bruised, haunted fugitive, his once‑steady confidence shaken by a mysterious accident that left him trembling at the very sight of a horse. Still a seasoned bronc‑buster, he battles a painful, almost animal panic each time he nears the herd, forcing him to confront both his physical limits and the shadowy forces that may have set the trap.
The ranch is a crucible of restless characters: the enigmatic Merida Lopez, whose exotic allure hints at hidden motives; the gaunt Dr. Feliz Huerta, whose tired eyes mask a personal obsession with Glenn’s condition; and the hard‑hearted owner Otis Rockland, whose tangled dealings with dangerous allies stir suspicion. Rough‑handed cowhands like Quartel and the lethal Cabezablanca add muscle and menace, while whispers of murder and betrayal linger in the dust‑caked air.
Against this volatile backdrop, Crawford must decide whether to flee the terror that grips his body or stay to untangle the web of deceit that threatens everyone on the range. The stakes rise with every uneasy stare, promising a tense showdown where trust is as scarce as water in the desert.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (318K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-09-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1922–1958
A fast-rising western writer, he started publishing while still a teenager and built a reputation for vivid frontier action. Even in a short life, he produced dozens of stories and more than twenty novels that kept his name alive with western readers.
View all books