Showing results by narrator "Tim Thomas" in All Categories

Original story published in Lariat story magazine - July 1947.

Julia's daddy was the judge in town. He used to be fair, but recently it seemed that had changed. What cost to regular folks would there be?

Wayne D. Overholser, winner of three Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, weaves a magic spell in this story with his consistent skill in presenting vibrant characters and his uncommon sensitivity to the depths of human personality.

Honest presentation is only one characteristic of Frazee’s well-crafted tales. He tells a convincing, satisfying, and unusual story even when employing stock Western situations. A major strength is his understanding of the nuances of character, of how people are motivated, of the good and bad within each person, and of the conflicts between man and his environment. Drawing upon his years in the mountains of Colorado, he can vividly and realistically depict a variety of Western settings and do so in such a way that the settings assume a character of their own.

A classic tale that features all the beloved subjects and icons - stagecoaches, gold rush towns, and whiskey bars - that represent the romance and excitement of America's frontier.

Caleb Doorn is better known by his Blackfoot name, Many Coups. Doorn is scouting for the US Army in the Mexican campaign when a small wagon train passes on its way to California. Their trek will take them into Indian country, and to protect the train from attack, the wagon master has foolishly taken a young Blackfoot woman hostage.

In 30 years of prospecting, old Jim had never discovered Amber's Mirage - a shining cliff above a spring that ran heavy with gold. But his young sidekick took up the search to find the gold - a search that would cost him two years away from wild Ruby, the woman he loved.

It’s high-stakes, win-or-die football action in the far future, as aliens and humans fill positions based on physiology and leave their blood, sweat and tears on gridirons across the galaxy. Last season, 19-year-old rookie quarterback Quentin Barnes overcame his racism and unified his team. He led the Ionath Krakens to a lower-tier championship, a championship that earns them promotion into the meat grinder known as “Tier One.”

What the vicious Utah Jack Grubbs would really kill for just rode into town: Smoke Jensen...and a small fortune in rawhide. As if that wasn't trouble enough, Chief Iron Claw's bloodthirsty Cheyenne warriors have just appeared on the horizon. It isn't long before a war between the white man's greed and the red man's savagery turns the peaceful Bighorn Mountains into a simmering powder keg...and Smoke Jensen is just the man to set off the explosion.

The last thing Jason Fury wants is to lead this wagon train west to California. Hell, he just wants to head back east, where a smart young man like himself has a real shot at a better life. But halfway across Oklahoma the wagon train is attacked by bloodthirsty Commanche and Jedediah Fury - the leader of the settlers and Jason’s father - is counted among the dead. Before he knows it, Jason’s leading the wagons into Arizona Territory, where the squabbling settlers decide to stop for good and start a town they’ll name Fury in honor of Jedediah.

Bo Creel is back at his family's Star C Ranch in Bear Creek, Texas. Along with his buddy Scratch, he's finding out that home is where the hell-raising is. A rival ranch is trying to drive the Creel family out of business, using any means necessary. For Bo, Scratch, and Bo's nephew Lee, always suckers for a pretty face, come three ladies. Two to melt hearts and one to blur the battle lines between the ranches. Desperate to raise cash and save the Star C, the Creels set out on a cattle drive to the Gulf of Mexico.

There's nothing like family. At least that's what people say. But when Bo and Scratch come home to Bear Creek for a long-overdue visit, Bo's family kindly invites him to turn around and leave. His old friends and neighbors turn tail and run when they see him. Next thing he knows, he's in jail for the brutal murder of two saloon girls in neighboring Cottonwood. Unfortunately, the real killer looks astonishingly like Bo. Now, with his buddy in jail, Scratch needs to ride to the rescue, if he can escape the clutches of the beautiful assistant to a traveling snake oil salesman.

In a court of law, it takes 12 jurors to convict a killer. Two of them are Jensens. It all started when those Jensen boys, Ace and Chance, got roped into jury duty. It should have ended when justice was served with the killer dancing on the end of a rope. But no. This is just the beginning of the death sentence for Ace, Chance, and the other 10 terrified jurors.

Yakima Henry has been dealt more than his share of trouble, even for a half-white, half-Indian man in the West. Now he's running a small Arizona horse ranch with his longtime love, Faith, and he thinks he may have finally found his share of peace and prosperity. But Bill Thornton still has the wound from where Faith - once his most valuable working girl - shot him before Yakima carried her off. And he has a heart full of hatred. Yakima's violent past is about to come calling.

Half Native American and Half White, Yakima Henry considers himself lucky to have any job - even if it means just sweeping up the local brothel. But when four hombres attempt to carve up one of the house girls, Yakima gives them a taste of their own medicine with his Arkansas Toothpick. Now, he's become the girl's protector, and is on the run from a vicious bounty hunter.

Shady Rest, Texas, has the dubious reputation for being the deadliest town in America. Getting yourself killed is as easy as blinking and twice as quick. Sure enough, Matt Jensen hasn't swallowed his whisky before the town's marshal is gunned down before his eyes. Matt defends himself by putting two bullets in the shooter's chest, unaware that he's in line for a $5,000 bounty - as long as he stays in Shady Rest to collect it. And staying gets even more tempting when a red haired beauty decides to be the next town marshal....

Twelve years ago, newspaperman John Bryce saved an innocent man from the hangman's noose. That man was Matt Jensen. In gratitude, Matt gave Bryce four gold nuggets and told him, "If there's ever anything I can do, just let me know." Now, that day has come. As editor of the Fullerton Defender, Bryce has become the target of a powerful - and ruthless - English lord. A feared master duelist, his aim is fixed on the Dakota Territories.

Purgatory, Arizona, is the last place you'll ever cross the law. Because in this town, the law is the personal fiefdom of an evil man - as Matt Jensen discovered on his first day in town, when an unavoidable gunfight and a dead deputy landed him in jail, sentenced to hang at Yuma Prison. But when the train from Purgatory to Yuma is violently derailed, Matt is set free amidst the carnage - with a choice to make. He can run for his life and live like an outlaw or take a chance with the determined U.S. Marshall who must hunt him down.

When Duff MacCallister sees smoke rising from his neighbor’s ranch, he knows that something is very wrong. But he isn’t prepared for what he finds: smoldering buildings, a rancher and his wife brutally slaughtered, and a 14-year-old survivor who could not save her parents. Now, Duff is going after the killers — and his only companion is the headstrong girl who refuses to be left behind.

Long before there was a mountain man called Preacher, a young adventurer set off with a team of fur traders from St. Louis for the time of his life. On a wild frontier, he sought a fortune. Instead, he found blood, betrayal and the beginning of a legend. Armed only with a knife, surrounded by a fierce Blackfoot war party, the young man was forced to kill a warrior chief in an act of audacious courage. But when a savage grizzly bear attack left him half-dead, he could no longer protect himself.