A Ralph Compton Western
9 total works
Owen Burnett’s needs are small. All he’s ever wanted is his wife’s affection, his children’s health, and a little plot of land which he can farm. Still, he’s no fool. So when his neighbor Gareth Kurst makes him a business proposition, one that could leave him richer than he’s ever dreamed, he can’t refuse giving the risky scheme a try.
Rounding up cattle up in the Texas Hill Country is nothing to take on lightly. Between the Comanches roaming the countryside and the horns of the beasts he’s hunting down, Owen knows every second he spends out in the wild puts his life in plenty of danger. But the greatest threat to his person is one he never expected—his ruthless and conniving business partner, who has no plans of ever sharing his hard-earned cash....
If things are quiet in the little town of Sweetwater, Marshal Fred Hitch sees no reason to make waves. But when Tyree Johnson shows up, Fred’s relaxed nature is put to the test. At fifteen years old, Tyree is a tough-as-nails bounty hunter with no patience for anyone calling him “boy.” He’s come to apprehend a killer who escaped from Cheyenne and has been hiding in plain sight in Sweetwater.
To save face and his town’s good name, Fred must ride with Tyree and his prisoner all the way to Cheyenne. The unlikely pair has a rough trail ahead of them, and as tough as Tyree is, he has some lessons to learn about the evil men do—and how to survive it.
More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books in Print
Mississippi charmer Abner Mason is a professional gambler and a regular on the Delta Jack, a luxurious riverboat. But things haven’t exactly been going Mason’s way. After a disastrous loss at the tables, he owes an impossible debt to the most powerful man on the ship: mysterious, ruthless Cam Greeley. And Greeley’s willing to do whatever it takes to get his fortune back—even threaten Mason’s life.
Now Mason has a single night to raise all the funds to pay off his debt by completing whatever ominous jobs Greeley has waiting for him. He just has to make it through alive....
When a bunch of ruffians rob a bank in the sleepy town of Alpine, it’s only natural for the locals to be alarmed. But this gang and its leader, Cestus Calloway, are a different breed of outlaw. In fact, Cestus, known as the Robin Hood of the Rockies, distributes his loot to those less fortunate and rains stolen money down on the townsfolk. As if that isn’t too good to be true, this gang holds to one important rule: Steal but don’t kill.
All Alpine’s Marshal, Boyd Cooper, wants is peace and quiet, not to get a posse together to track outlaws. However, when an altercation leads to the exchange of gunfire and the spilling of outlaw blood, he doesn’t have much of a choice. The outlaws fear their reputation might be at stake, so they declare revenge on the tin stars of Alpine. They’re mad enough to break their own no-kill rule, and Boyd Cooper knows things could end as bloody as they started....
Chancy Gantry and Ollie Teal are honest cowpunchers, riding herd on fifteen hundred longhorns from Texas to Kansas. Their trail boss, Lucas Stout, is tough but fair. He’s never lost a hand on a drive and doesn’t aim to start now. So when a cowhand needs a sawbones bad, Stout sends Chancy and Ollie to escort the man to a town called Prosperity, which none of them has ever heard of.
At first glance, the town looks deserted—but the saloon is full. The dusty denizens of Prosperity are happy to help the ailing cowboy, especially when they hear about the herd grazing a few miles away. Chancy and Ollie are about to discover that some towns are a lot easier to ride into than to ride out of....
More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
The life of a cowboy suits Thalis Christie just fine. A puncher for the Crescent H in Texas, he loves what he does and is darn good at it too. He doesn’t even mind being away from his family—he’s got good friends to keep him from getting too homesick. That is, until his folks write, imploring him to hunt down his brother, Myles, who’s been shot while prospecting in the Black Hills.
Thalis sets out to do his family duty and find his little brother—still alive, he hopes. Thalis has got his partner, Ned Leslie, by his side, as well as some other surprising travel companions, including the famous Wild Bill Hickok. But as he follows his brother’s wandering trail across the country, leading him to encounter deadly obstacles from Texas to Blood Gulch, he begins to wonder if he can ever return to the comfortable life he used to lead—or if he even wants to....
Haunted by memories of the Civil War, Coy Jennings just wants to find work as a ranch hand and to begin saving for a small farm where he could finally enjoy peace and quiet. Arriving in the Texas settlement of Phantom Hill, Coy soon befriends a damaged but likable stable hand by the name of Ira Dalton and hopes for a future with a lovely widowed mother and her seven-year-old daughter.
In order to make Phantom Hill a decent place to settle down, Coy must wage a new kind of war and take a stand against ruthless ranch owner Lester Sinclair, his sadistic sons, and the murderous band of cattle rustlers who work for them. And after the Sinclairs turn on innocent Ira, Coy is driven to seek justice for his trusted friend...cost what it may.
Big for his age, young and impressionable drifter Charlie Chilton is taken in by the gruff leader of a gang of small-time crooks. While Grady Haskell sees something of himself in kindly, wayward Charlie, the ruffian pushes all feelings aside for a potentially big score.
When Haskell’s bold daylight bank job in prosperous Bakersfield turns bloody, Charlie attempts to thwart the heist—and ends up the only gang member caught alive. Sentenced to swing, Charlie makes a daring escape, determined to track down Haskell and prove his innocence.
But with a mysterious marshal and a party of angry townsmen hot on his heels, Charlie must track the killer thieves through a vicious winter storm in the High Sierras—before the seething posse gets the chance to hang him high.
More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
Years ago, Charlie Pike witnessed the horrors of the War Between the States from the losing side. Now, all he wants to do is work his cattle ranch and marry the spirited local schoolmarm. But when his old commanding officer calls him to action, he cannot refuse.
Confederate Brigadier General Henry J. Dryden was a blustery, demanding leader—and he saved Pike's life in the war. After, Dryden became a judge in the wilds of New Mexico Territory. Now he's dying, and he wants Pike to escort him back to his native Texas.
It's a simple request—and a deadly one. Because the powerful gang leader Clem Dredge wants vengeance on Dryden, who sentenced to his brother to hang. And Charlie Pike is about to find out that paying some debts can cost a man everything…
More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!