Turnback Creek, 2

Product Description THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW When legendary gunfighter John Locke is hired to ride shotgun on a fat payroll wagon bound for Turnback Creek, Montana, it's more than a job. It's a chance to reunite with his old riding partner, ex-Marshal Dale Cooper. The pair go back a ways, and though Coop no longer wears a badge, he wants to hit the trail one more time. But the going is not easy. There are sidewinders in the shadows, ready to pilfer the loot for themselves. Once they get to the ramshackle town, the trouble really starts, as the pair must make a perilous trek to the remote mining camp itself, with death lurking behind every boulder and crevice. Armed with hot lead, cold steel, and an iron will, Locke and Cooper know that in this fight, there will be no winners -- only survivors. But Locke soon learns that the true danger lies closer than he thought. About the Author Robert J. Randisi is the creator and author of The Gunsmith, the popular Western series with more than 250 novels, written under the pen name J.R. Roberts. Western novels that have appeared under his own name are The Ham Reporter, The Ghost with Blue Eyes, Legend, and more. He has also edited the Western anthologies White Hats, Black Hats, and Boot Hill. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter OneEllsworth, Kansas1877John Locke looked out the window of his hotel room and saw his friend, Marshal Dale Cooper, standing in the street -- alone. Cooper hesitated in front of his office, took a deep breath, adjusted his gun belt, and then stepped into the street."This is not going to happen," Locke said.He turned, grabbed his gun belt from the bedpost, and left the room, still strapping it on. He wanted to get down to the street before Cooper could get very far.As he came out the front door, almost at a run, he saw his friend walking down the street with a purposeful stride."Coop!"He hit the street running and caught up to his friend, who turned to look at him as Locke grabbed his arm. His jaw was set, and his eyes were steely. He looked grim."John," Cooper said. "What are you doing here?""Same thing you are.""I'm wearin' a badge," Cooper said. "I have to be here. It's my job. You don't.""I'm not letting you do this alone, Coop," Locke said. "It's as simple as that."Cooper stared at his friend, then took a deputy's badge from his pocket and held it out."No," Locke said, holding up his hand. "Let's just do it."Cooper put the badge away and shook his head. "I'm gettin' too old for this, John.""You're not even fifty yet.""I'm forty-eight.""See?""Forty-eight seem a good age to die to you?""I'm forty-one, Dale," Locke said, "and that doesn't seem a good age to die.""At the other end of this street are going to be five cowboys," Cooper said. "They're all going to be wearing guns. Do you know what that means?""Yes," Locke said. "It means they're cowboys wearing guns when they're more used to holding a lariat. It means that when we reach them, they will officially be outnumbered."Cooper thought that over, then nodded and said, "That's one way of looking at it."Locke slapped the lawman on the back and said, "That's the only way to look at it, my friend."• • •Turnback Creek, MontanaAs John Locke rode into the mining town of Turnback Creek, Montana, he realized it had been more than ten years since he had last seen Dale Cooper. That debacle in Ellsworth with the cowboys. It had cost Cooper his job as marshal, and after that, Locke had pretty much lost track of his friend. If he'd taken to wearing a badge somewhere else, Locke had never heard about it. Then, out of the blue, last week Locke received a telegram in Las Vegas, New Mexico, from Cooper, asking him to meet him in Turnback Creek. Their friendship was such that, even after all the years of silence, Locke left immediately.The town looked fairly typical -- ramshackle buildings, badly rutted streets filled with water after several days of unrelenting rain. It was