The original 1949 pulp magazine version of this classic Louis L'Amour tale, featuring one of his most famous characters, Lance Kilkenny. Eastern educated, drawn to the western plains after the Civil War, Kilkenny was a loner and legendary gunfighter, who picked his causes carefully. Mort Davis had saved Lance Kilkenny's life and now Davis needed Kilkenny's help: Davis had filed a claim in the Live Oak country on a water hole near Lost Creek, an area dominated by two cattlemen, each claiming rights to the water hole. Kilkenny meets Nita Riordan, beautiful strong-willed owner of the Apple Canyon Saloon, and the two are drawn to each other. Nita warns Kilkenny that a mysterious man behind the scenes is orchestrating a range war and has already hired men to kill him. In order to save Davis and prevent the range war, Kilkenny knows he will have to think fast—and shoot faster.
Includes a special Foreword about the author and book.
(Cover adapted from the original pulp magazine cover image.)
