A Stranger Rides In

About the Book

He came because she sent for him. Little does Yancy Lawhorn realize that cousin Mary's letter would draw him into the jaws of a crosscut saw that is slicing up the country. The contest, over who should wind up owning late uncle Milt Groves' ranch and ample cattle resources to compete for lucrative government beef supply contracts, develops into a test of wills.

On his first day in Silver City, Lawhorn is met by three rogues bent on flattening his nose. Fisticuffs escalate into gunfire, and when the smoke clears, all three ruffians have been sent to collect their reward. Within a few days, Lawhorn is ambushed on the trail, has his horse shot from beneath him and is wounded. Enduring great hunger, thirst, and painful travel, he walks and crawls back to town.

The Groves' ranch note is called, and Mary is kidnapped. Is the Territorial Attorney General involved, along with Bart Garner? It appears so. Locating and rescuing Mary becomes an obsession that takes center stage in his mind, even over protecting the ranch or...himself.

About the Author

Ira Compton co-authored a non-fiction book entitled, Jessie Evans: Lincoln County Bad Man. He has also published a number of historical and how-to articles for such magazines and periodicals as The American Rifleman, American Hunter, Real Frontier, Modern Photography, and Aviation Quarterly. Ira makes his home with his wife in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.