Guns on the Prairie

Informationen zum Autor David Robbins has been a writer for more than twenty-five years, publishing under a variety of pseudonyms. He is the author of Badlanders  and has written more than a dozen successful titles in the Ralph Compton series, including Fatal Justice and Bullet for a Bad Man . Klappentext In this Western novel by the author of Badlanders ! a con man's ruse casts him in the role of heroic lawman... THE GREAT PRETENDER Alonzo Pratt! alias Robert Grant! has always survived by his wits! working his way up from petty pickpocket to polished con artist. Saddlebags bulging with disguises! he is a master impersonator! whether limping in a Civil War uniform or toting a Bible dressed in black. On occasion! a tin star pinned to his vest is just the ticket to winning the trust of his innocent marks. When Federal Marshal Jacob Stone happens to come across another lawman while taking in a wounded prisoner! he's grateful for some assistance. And when he hears tell that Cal Grissom's gang is roaming these parts! he enlists Deputy Grant to help him track down the thieves. But he does wonder why his new partner seems so...reluctant. Alonzo never planned to join a manhunt. But now he's shooting Sioux and rescuing an outlaw's gorgeous daughter. His disguise may have fooled the marshal! but it won't stop lead... Leseprobe 1 The one-armed rider came out of the woods and drew rein on the crest of a hill overlooking a small farm. Placing his right hand on his saddle horn, he grinned. “It looks plumb ripe for pickin’, doesn’t it, Archibald?” His horse, a bay, pricked its ears at the mention of its name. “Let’s get to it, shall we?” the rider said eagerly. “I’m hungry enough to eat one of those cows.” The rider wore a loose-fitting blue uniform. Patched at the elbows, and with a tear in the left pants leg, it gave the impression he’d worn the uniform a good many years. So did the gray in his hair and mustache. His sparkling blue eyes and complexion, though, hinted at youthful vigor and vim. The effect made it hard to guess his age. He could be anywhere from twenty to fifty. Halfway down the hill the rider again drew rein. “I’m gettin’ careless. I forgot I washed up in that creek this mornin’.” Dismounting, he searched about for a patch of bare earth. Finding one, he scooped at the dirt with his fingernails, then rubbed a little on his cheeks, forehead, and neck to further disguise how young he truly was. “Don’t want to overdo it,” he said to the bay. Climbing back on, the rider stared at his empty left sleeve. “It’s a darned nuisance but it never fails to work.” He clucked to his mount and presently they reached a fenced pasture where half a dozen cows grazed or lay watching him with idle interest. The farm wasn’t much, a house and a barn and a chicken coop, but the buildings were well tended, and that gave the rider hope. “They keep the place up,” he said. “That usually means hard workers, and hard workers usually have more than layabouts, don’t they?” The sun had barely cleared the eastern horizon, and the farm was stirring to life. Clucks came from the chicken coop. Smoke curled from the chimney atop the house. A large wagon filled with manure, the team already hitched, stood between the barn and the coop. The barn door was open, and as the rider approached, out of the barn strode a big-boned middle-aged man wearing bib overalls and a straw hat and carrying a pail. He drew up short, his eyes narrowing, his other hand curling into a fist. “What do we have here?” The rider smiled his friendliest smile and brought the bay to a stop. “How do, mister? I hope you don’t mind my bein’ on your property. I’m just passin’ through and was wonderin’ if I could maybe buy me a meal.” The farmer studied him and the bay. “You’ve come a far piece.” “Yes, sir...

Product details

• Authors: David Robbins
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 01.09.2015
• EAN: 9780451472908
• ISBN: 978-0-451-47290-8
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 108 mm x 173 mm x 20 mm