In “The Trail to Peach Meadow Cañon,” Mike Bastian, taken in by the legendary outlaw Ben Curry as an orphaned child and raised to one day take over his empire of crime, finds that day has come. As he prepares for his first criminal job, a gold-train robbery, Mike must decide whether to follow the path laid out before him or to carve out a destiny of his own.
In the title story, Charles Rodney, shanghaied and forced into labor on a merchant vessel, eventually dies from repeated beatings—but not before deeding part of his ranch to Rafe Caradec, whom he hopes will protect his family.
Louis L’Amour (1908–1988) was an American author whose Western stories are loved the world over. Born in Jamestown, North Dakota, he was the most decorated author in the history of American letters. In 1982 he was the first American author ever to be awarded a Special National Gold Medal by the United States Congress for lifetime literary achievement, and in 1984 President Reagan awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the nation. He was also a recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.