Ralph Compton Calvert's Last Bluff

Informationen zum Autor Ralph Compton stood six foot eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail , was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was the USA Today bestselling author of the Trail of the Gunfighter series, the Border Empire series, the Sundown Riders series, and the Trail Drive series, among others. E. L. Ripley has a background of military service and social work. He wrote his first novel when he was fifteen and has been writing ever since. His novels have been praised as "a fast-paced and engaging intrigue, with characters the reader will be attached to and root for despite their flaws and faults" (Marko Kloos, author of Chains of Command ) and "a wild, page-turning ride" (Mike Shepherd, author of Kris Longknife: Unrelenting ). Klappentext In this brand-new Ralph Compton Western, a hard-bitten gambler and a hard-luck kid begin a treacherous journey to new lives. In Omaha, Tom Calvert boards a riverboat to play high-stakes poker, but accusations of cheating cause some serious trouble, and a deadly gun battle ensues. Tom is injured and knows that his enemies will be looking for him, so he reluctantly accepts a bargain from young stowaway Asher. In exchange for Calvert teaching him gunslinging skills, Asher will guide them to a possibly mythical town of peace and plenty called Friendly Field. To get there they just have to battle assassins, dangerous Shoshone, and the rough wilderness of the Oregon Trail. Leseprobe Chapter One   Anyone would know at a glance that Newlywed was no longer in Bert's hands. She'd never been exactly shabby, but Bert's priorities leaned away from making her pleasing to the eye. Keeping Newlywed clean, freshly painted, and crewed by respectable-looking men would have bitten deeply into Bert's ten cents from every dollar to change hands on his boat. He'd always managed to keep it just decent enough that people with money wouldn't turn up their noses at the prospect of a hand, but it had never gone beyond that. No one was fooled into thinking it was a classy joint, even if that was the way Bert had liked to think of it.   Things were different now. Her hull, her paddles-every inch of the steamboat was lovely white with yellow trim. There were banners, streamers, and decorative lamps. Newlywed lit up the river and the evening, tingeing the mist and the water gold. It was impressive that that was all it took to make what was in Tom's estimation the humblest paddle steamer on the water into something remarkable.   However warm it looked, none of that warmth reached him. He was in the shadows between the cobbler and the barrel maker, watching in silence. He rubbed his hands together and waited, drawing back out of sight as two men rode by on horseback.   He'd recognized at least half the people going aboard, but there was only one who gave him pause: Pollock. He was a player out of Reno, and he wasn't much talked about, but Tom had sat down with him three times. Not once had he walked out with a profit. Pollock didn't just know how to get money; he knew how to keep it. He was such an easy fellow that most folks didn't mind seeing him win.   It was all right, though. One of the others to go aboard, in the company of no fewer than three girls in silly gowns, was Franklin McCall. McCall was every gambler's favorite opponent: a man with enough money that there was no danger he'd ever run out and the sort of disposition that rendered him able to lose it regularly without getting sore.   Tom hadn't seen Russell yet, but he'd be there as well, and there was no telling what sort of trouble he'd be. If he was sober and things were going well with his wife, he'd likely be the big w...

About the author

Ralph Compton stood six foot eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was the USA Today bestselling author of the Trail of the Gunfighter series, the Border Empire series, the Sundown Riders series, and the Trail Drive series, among others.

E. L. Ripley has a background of military service and social work. He wrote his first novel when he was fifteen and has been writing ever since. His novels have been praised as "a fast-paced and engaging intrigue, with characters the reader will be attached to and root for despite their flaws and faults" (Marko Kloos, author of Chains of Command) and "a wild, page-turning ride" (Mike Shepherd, author of Kris Longknife: Unrelenting).

Product details

• Authors: Ralph Compton, E L Ripley, E. L. Ripley
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 31.10.2020
• EAN: 9780593102381
• ISBN: 978-0-593-10238-1
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 106 mm x 171 mm x 20 mm
• Series: A Ralph Compton Western; The Sundown Riders Series
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature