Part of Series
Ranger Andy Pickard and his partner, Logan Daggett, are sent to central Texas to investigate a series of killings and cattle thefts. The two biggest cattlemen in the area blame each other for the violence, but it seems to Andy that neither man may be guilty. The case is complicated by the rise of a gang of "regulators" —masked vigilantes—and the arrival of a notorious hired gunman whose employer is unknown. The murder of a captured regulator and a standoff in the county jail wind up bringing to justice the men responsible for the killings and thievery. Among the culprits is a man whose guilt no one would have guessed, and among the ironies of the case is a telegram to the Rangers from the State of Texas notifying them that their services are no long required.
Author
Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009. http://us.macmillan.com/author/elmerk...
