GALLOWS GHOST

GALLOW GHOST

By Barry Cord

Ace Books, 1967

The man Hell rejected. When the cold swept over the Texas Badlands, it brought something even more deadly with it: a force so violent and evil that even the harsh winter was nothing compared to it

A lone rider came out of the infamous outlaw hideout in the Tenejos hills. That rider called himself by the name of a man who had been hanged twenty years before – and he was riding now to bring vengeance and terror on those who had brought him to the gallows.

This slim, strangely dapper gunman rode into the rangeland and left death and destruction on his trail – but there was one man he especially wanted. That was young U.S. Marshal Colby Jackson, the son of the man who had done the hanging.

But how could Colby shoot it out with a man who was already dead?

This very fast-moving story begins with a one-man massacre, and it’s not just people he kills. Livestock is slaughtered too and a line shack destroyed. And the killing spree doesn’t end there. One of the acts of this dead man is to kidnap a young woman to bring Marshal Colby Jackson to him and it isn’t long before Jackson is gunned down – but he survives and wants answers. Who is this mystery gunman and why does he want to kill Jackson and others? Is he really a spirit returned from the dead wanting revenge? Will the lawman be able to find and free the kidnapped girl? 

Barry Cord’s tale becomes more and more gripping as the lawman tries to track down a ghost. At times the story takes on a very dark tone as some of the scenes depict cruelty in very visual prose. The author switches between characters regularly often leaving them in dangerous situations when changing to someone else. Cord does let the reader know what’s going on partway through the story but that seemed to add more tension to the tale rather than giving away too much. At no time did I predict the outcome of the story and I was never quite sure who would be left alive at the end of the book.

Barry Cord is a pseudonym for author Peter Germano and Gallows Ghost is an excellent example of why I like his work so much and once again I was left looking forward to reading another of his books very soon.

My copy of Gallows Ghost is part of an Ace Double and it is backed by Room to Swing a Loop by Stephen Payne. 

THE TOUGHEST TOWN IN THE TERRITORY

 

THE TOUGHEST TOWN IN THE TERRITORY
By Tom West
Ace Books, 1965

“This town can always use deputies. It’s the toughest! They planted the marshal last week, lead poisoning. Third this season. Come sundown, the town’s a madhouse, south of the tracks. Abilene ain’t a patch on Prairie City. You might say it’s pure hell with the lid off.”

   “Wal,” the newcomer drawled, “I’m down to my last ten-spot. Just who hires deputies in this hell-raising town?”

   “Drop into the Bull Pen up the street,” rasped the clerk, grinning. “Better leave five bucks with me.”

   “For what?”

   “You’ll need a marker – in boot hill.”

The above conversation sets up the basic plot of this tale and the hard-boiled writing style gives the book a dark tone. The newcomer, a man just known as Tex, immediately questions his appointment, not as a deputy, but as Prairie City’s new marshal. Gamblers are betting on how long he’ll last and his deputies don’t seem to like him. Tex wonders why he should put his life on the line for a town in which he isn’t welcome. As the attempts on his life come, Tex gets close to quitting. Of course, he doesn’t and tension mounts. As the deadline for the bets to be paid on his death the gamblers set Tex up to be killed. Tex survives this but trouble still comes his way, especially when he decides it’s time to enforce the no guns in town law.

Tex also has women problems. He’s attracted to two and he soon has to deal with female jealousy. This could be the distraction that means he drops his guard for it to be the death of him.

The story is well written and the plot moves forwards quickly. It’s packed with tough talk and lively gunplay. The author uses some terms and words that I hardly ever see in westerns, such as having characters refer to each other as hairpins. I was also surprised to see a building called a bungalow. Many of the characters enjoy a smoke and often light up a cigaret, which later on is called a cigarette, then switches back to being a cigaret. Was this an author or publisher mistake? 

Tom West is a pseudonym used by Fred East, and this is only the second book I can remember reading by him. I really enjoyed the first one, Bitter Brand, and The Toughest Town in the Territory started so well, was full of potential, and Tex is an interesting hero. Once Tex has settled into his new job the story is held together by trying to bring law to Prairie City and becomes a series of unrelated incidents that Tex has to tackle. The promise of a showdown between Tex and forty ranch hands had me looking forward to an exciting action-packed finale but I was to be severely let down as the book took a ridiculous turn, making for the worst ending I’ve ever read. In fact, I had to re-read a few paragraphs to make sure I hadn’t imagined what I’d read, but no, this unbelievably stupid ending was real. What on earth was the author thinking?

Bitter Brand left me wanting to read more of Tom West’s work. If I’d read The Toughest Town in the Territory first, I very much doubt I’d have picked up another book by this author. I have three more West books in my collection, so the question now is will I ever read them? Maybe I’ll try one more but it won’t be anytime soon.

My copy of The Toughest Town in the Territory is part an Ace Double, the other story being Guns at Q Cross by Merle Constiner. 

BULLET WELCOME FOR SLATTERY

SLATTERY

Book 2 of 10

BULLET WELCOME FOR SLATTERY

By Steven G. Lawrence

Ace Books, 1961

For Tom Slattery, the Rio Grande country was bad news. His mother had died here and he had now come to bury his father and brother beside her in Boot Hill. After that he was going to clear out.

But on the Mexican side of the river, a revolution was in the air and someone was running guns across the Rio to the rebels. Unexpectedly Slattery became a witness to the smuggling. 

Slattery thought the law would side with him. The questions he answered too late were who was behind the law – and who was holding the carbine that was aimed at his back? 

Tom Slattery first appeared in this Ace double book, it is backed with the first book in the series, Slattery. It’s interesting to note that Ace called the author Steven G. Lawrence and did so on the next two Ace doubles that featured Slattery tales too. Subsequent reprints and new stories saw the authors name become Steven C. Lawrence. Bullet Welcome for Slattery had its title shortened when reprinted and became Bullet Welcome. Steven G/C Lawrence is a pseudonym used by Lawrence Agustus Murphy.

Discovering a wagon in trouble and the following disaster that befalls it is what exposes the rifles it is carrying. A quick exchange of gunfire sees the wagon driver dead and Slattery wounded. Slattery is helped by a woman and her young son; the latter having witnessed the shooting and having seen the crates of guns too. The gunrunners are soon set on killing both Slattery and the young boy.

The rest of the fast-moving plot revolves around a siege of a jailhouse where Slattery and the sheriff are holding one of the gunrunners prisoner. The gang want him back and Slattery dead, then they plan to kill the boy and they won’t stop at anything to achieve all their aims. There’s plenty of tough talking and gunplay that play out in some tense scenes. There’s also a twist as to who’s side one of the characters is on, but that wasn’t hard to see coming before the author revealed it.

Bullet Welcome for Slattery is a traditional western that played out pretty much as I expected it would. The only downside was the number of typos the book contained. Some of these made me go back and reread a paragraph to understand it properly as they mixed speech from different characters making it hard to work out who said what and to whom. Overlooking these spelling and layout mistakes, the book proved to be a quick and entertaining read and I look forward to reading the third one soon.

SLATTERY

Book 1 of 10
By Steven G. Lawrence
Ace Books, 1961

“Slattery’s back!”

The cry sent fear and hate racing through the town. Five years before, on the very street he was now approaching, a howling mob had dealt Slattery a nearly fatal beating for the murder they were sure he'd committed. Long years in a federal prison had only strengthened Slattery’s determination to return and expose the untruthful testimony that had sent him to jail.

But the only person who knew the truth had mysteriously disappeared. And the man behind the frame-up had used five years to buy off the town of honest people.

What could Slattery prove to crowds driven by terror in a town where the law permitted him no gun to defend himself?

Tom Slattery first appeared in this Ace double book, it is backed by the second book, Bullet Welcome for Slattery. It’s interesting to note that Ace called the author Steven G. Lawrence and did so on the next two Ace doubles that featured Slattery tales too. Subsequent reprints and new stories saw the authors name become Steven C. Lawrence. The book Slattery also had a name change when reprinted and was retitled The Lynchers. Bullet Welcome for Slattery also had a title change as it was shortened to just Bullet Welcome. Steven G/C Lawrence is a pseudonym used by Lawrence Agustus Murphy.

I read a couple of the latter Slattery books many, many years ago and can’t really remember anything about them so looked forward to reacquainting myself with the character and finding out how it all began. 

The plot is one that turns up in many westerns – the wronged man returning to set things right and get his revenge on the real guilty persons. What stood out to me in this book was how the whole town had been turned against Slattery so he couldn’t find anywhere to stay, stable his horse, or even get a meal. Of course, there is one or two people who help him, the main one being an attractive woman who hasn’t lived in the town of Gunnison long and she refuses to be intimidated by the rancher MacCandles and his men. It’s MacCandles that Slattery believes is behind the killing of his father and brother that led to Slattery being framed for murder. To prove this Slattery needs to find the missing witness who had written to him whilst in jail requesting a meeting. Just about everyone hinders Slattery’s search as they believe Slattery wants to find him so he can kill him for not telling the truth in court.

The author keeps the whereabouts of the witness a secret for a good portion of the book, although it’s easy enough to work out what has happened to him. Slattery has a good idea as to where he is too, but freeing him from his captors is difficult and fraught with danger. When Slattery achieves this the story becomes packed with action and leads to the expected showdown with MacCandles and his men. What seemed at first, to be a fairly traditional western tale that had a predictable storyline did have a surprise waiting, a twist to be sprung near the end that I didn’t foresee, and this made the story all the more enjoyable than it already was.

I’m glad I decided to return to the Slattery series after all these years and I’m now looking forward to reading the second book soon.

GUN JUNCTION

By Barry Cord

Cover art by Giorgio Tubaro

Chivers Press, 2001 hardback

Originally published as part of an Ace Double, 1964

Three men rode into Fulton, three loners with one this in common – a way of life built around a gun.

One was a U.S. deputy marshal, one a discredited ex-Ranger, one a hired killer. They had all come to do the same job: avenge the death of one man and restore law to the territory.

Or so they all said.

One of them rode with honor, one with guilt, and one with lies. And, in a short time, two would be dead and one left alone to fight for his life.

Like many books written by Barry Cord, this one has a twisted storyline that moves forwards at a breathless pace. The author gives enough information about the plot to make you think you know what is going on, but will then surprise you with revelations that will make you realize things aren’t as straight-forwards as you think.

The three central characters are all fascinating in their own rights, as are some of the people they come up against. The struggle to discover just who hanged Sheriff Tom Billens and who is blowing up trains makes for a gripping read. Just as I expected really, as I’ve been a fan of this authors work for a long time. However, there was one scene that stretched my belief just a little too much. A horse rescuing its owner from a situation I don’t believe a horse would go anywhere near. Other than that, this book did turn out to be a fun read and I will certainly be reading more of Barry Cord’s books soon.

Barry Cord is a pseudonym used by Peter B. Germano.

As is mentioned above, Gun Junction was originally part of an Ace Double western published in 1964, paired with A Man Called Ragian by John Callahan. You can see the artwork for Gun Junction below which was done by Gerald McConnell.

BITTER BRAND

By Tom West

Ace Books, 1966

     “We need a dependable man,” the leading citizens of Cold Creek told Lobo Lawson, “and we figger you’re him. So we’re offerin’ you the post of town marshal.”

     Lawson was a stranger in town, but they already knew he was a good man with a gun. He’d just shot it out with a passel of bank robbers on the road to town and he demonstrated his skill with a six-shooter and a fast draw.

     Folks in Cold Creek appreciated that because they sure had been having their troubles. Marshals were being buried at a fast pace, there were son many hardcases around.     

     Lobo had brass all right, because he took that badge and pinned it on. He’d bring law to Cold Creek – hot on his heels, because Lobo had just escaped from a jail sentence and the Wanted posters would be featuring is face everywhere! 

Tom West is a pseudonym for English author Fred East, and perhaps others, and this is the first time I’ve read anything by him even though I have a few of his books in my collection.

The story starts with Lawson’s escape from the stagecoach taking him to Yuma prison. Soon he finds himself in Cold Creek and in need of funds. His intention is to rob the bank but he’s beaten to it. Tracking the bandits, he kills them and plans to move on with the loot, but the posse arrives before he can hit the trail and they hail him a hero, which in turn leads to him being offered the marshal’s badge.

Lawson still plans to rob the bank but his priorities change as he gets to know the townsfolk, particularly a certain young lady. After a child is wounded by drunk cowboys, Lawson finds himself enforcing a no guns in saloons law, which doesn’t go down well. Lawson is also at odds with one of the most influential men in town. Eventually two U.S. deputies arrive in Cold Creek and Lawson’s troubles really begin.

The author writes in a fairly hardboiled style and uses many terms I haven’t come across before in westerns, such as characters referring to others as “hairpins.” Other words at times made me wonder if I was reading a noir private-eye tale. Not that I minded any of this, as it certainly gave the book a character of its own. The pace was extremely fast and I wasn’t sure how the story would end for Lawson. Working out who the main bad guy was wasn’t hard, I had that nailed right from the beginning, but what he was up to was another matter. Once Lawson knew, he then had the problem of proving it as the vital evidence vanished. 

With plenty of twists and turns, the author kept me glued to the story. Characterization was pretty good for such a short tale and brief descriptions gave a good sense of time and place. There was plenty of gunplay and the vanishing evidence added some welcome mystery to the story. All in all, I found this to be a very entertaining read and I’m looking forward to reading another Tom West book soon. 

Bitter Brand is one story in an Ace Double book and it is backed by Rain of Fire by Merle Constiner and you can read my review of that here. I much preferred Bitter Brand of the two.

RAIN OF FIRE

By Merle Constiner

Ace Books, 1966 

Fane was just a quiet storekeeper in a small Montana rangeland town who had a hobby. He was a gun collector and an amateur gunsmith. But he was no gunman. 

Nevertheless, when a call came from an old friend, Fane picked up one of his best shooting irons and joined up with a couple of gunslicks to clear up the trouble.

His killer companions didn’t think much of Fane. He was a deadshot, sure, but he had a real slow draw. And in their business, a slow draw was a ticket to Boot Hill.

But there were a lot of other professional gun throwers around who were to test their skill against this amateur – and came out second best, even with a gun out first.

Not having read any of Constiner’s work before, I really didn’t know what to expect from this short novel that is told in thirteen chapters over 112 pages. The reason I picked this particular book was that the blurb caught my imagination so I was a little disappointed that Fane’s hobby played a very small part in the tale.

At first the plot is a little confusing, intentionally so, as Fane and his two companions, Arapaho and Crezavent, try to find out who they’ve been hired by and for what purpose. Even when they know whose payroll they are on, they still have questions as to the reasons. Throughout their attempts to find the answers, gunmen come out of the shadows trying to kill them. 

Constiner throws more twists into the tale through new characters, one of whom gives Fane cryptic messages that could help save their lives and possibly reveal the answers to why they’ve been hired and who they’re expected to kill. 

The story moves forward well, although it is occasionally slowed down when the author includes lengthy descriptions of places or buildings that Fane finds himself at but most of the time Constiner doesn’t waste words and gets straight to the point, so much so, that if you don’t pay attention, you’ll find yourself wondering how the story has progressed from one point to another.

Summing up, I’d say this tale held my interest fairly well, although it didn’t grip me as much as I hoped it might as I found myself putting the book down to do other things rather than read it in one or two sittings. Will I read another Constiner book? Possibly, but having so many to choose from, I think it might be a while before I do so.

Rain of Fire is one half of an Ace Double and it is backed by Bitter Brand by Tom West and I hope to get around to reading that soon.

THE RUNNING IRON SAMARITANS

By Barry Cord

Ace, May 1973

Wandering cowmen, Long Jim and Windy befriend troubled cripple Lincoln Fervans and his wife at the V Bar Ranch. Lincoln has received warning notes telling him to leave his spread. Fearful for his and his wife’s life Fervans sells the ranch to Long Jim and Windy and now they become involved in the mystery of "Miguel" whose name is on the note. The men must soon draw on every reserve they have to track down a killer - to save their lives and see the ranch is returned to its rightful owners.

Barry Cord packs a lot into the pages of this story. There’s an excellent mix of characters, all of whom may have hidden agendas, even the Sheriff. And what of the Englishman known as Tally Ho, does he know what his ranch hands are doing and are they working under his orders? Then there’s the ghost of Miguel who seems to have come back from the dead to reclaim the V Bar Ranch, and is pretty handy with a rifle. 

I’ve read many books by Barry Cord and have enjoyed them all and this story is as equally entertaining, perhaps not up there with his best, but very good nonetheless. The story is a little more straightforward than a lot of Cord’s work. It doesn’t contain as much mystery as others or that many twists to the plot. In fact, the reader knows just about everything that is going on throughout, although Cord does spring one or two surprises later in the tale.

This is also the third story I’ve read about Long Jim and Windy and I don’t believe there are any more. It certainly doesn’t matter what order they are read in. In fact, I’m not even sure in what order they were originally published. This one is part of an Ace Double and is backed with another Long Jim and Windy tale, Desert Knights, that has the same publishing date. The other book, The Coffin Fillers, I’ve seen listed as being first published both in 1972, 1973 and 1974. I do think it’s a shame Cord didn’t write anymore books about Long Jim and Windy as they are a couple of likeable rogues. 

Barry Cord is a pseudonym used by Peter Germano and for me he is certainly an author worth checking out.

Ride the Long Night

By E.A. Alman

Ace Books, 1960

Originally published by The Macmillan Company, 1959

His name was Will Storm and he was getting to be a legend in the West. He wasn’t more than 27 years old, but his hair was completely white and he had a lifetime’s worth of hate stored up in him. He had sworn to would not rest until his gun caught up with three people:

 . . . the sweetheart who betrayed him,

. . . the treacherous saddle-partner who helped her railroad him to prison,

. . . the corrupt prison warden who tortured him for five bitter years.

It was a long rail that he rode – a long and violent trail – but it had an ending none would forget.

E.A. Alman is an author I wasn’t familiar with, and a google search doesn’t bring up anything other than this book. This publication contains a number of quotes from reviews declaring how good this story is, one stating ‘Alman promises to be one of the more stimulating writers of Western fiction, and this book should have wide appeal.’ Another says ‘One of the best westerns to come along in some time.’

The story starts well, and portrays Storm as a desperate man drive by his self-imposed mission to kill those who wronged him. Storm is hurt, being pursued by a posse. He’s saved by a young woman who lives alone, who’s a man-hater. A woman many see as crazy. She see’s opportunity in Storm and decides to help him heal and hide him from the posse. In exchange he must marry her, that’s all, he can then go on his way once she has his last name. Why is that so important to her? That is something you’ll have to find out for yourself by reading the book.

During Storm’s recovery we are introduced to two other major players, a man referred to as the Preacher – that is his trade but is there more to him than that? The second person is a lawman determined to see Storm back behind bars. As their lives become entwined the plot becomes more complicated and the suspense mounts.

At times this story is quite brutal, definitely has a hard-boiled appeal to it. Storm does do something that not all readers will approve of, but I can’t say more without spoiling a major element of the book. 

During this tale Storm helps some children find their parents and this part of the story seems to lose the dark edge of the rest of the book and a different side of Storm is revealed. Although this section of the story is important to how the plot develops, I did find the pace eased off a little here and lost its grittiness that I'd been appreciating. Once this story-thread had been resolved then the toughness returned and my enjoyment rose again and I was eager to see how the story ended.

With his vengeance hunt over, and maybe not how you’d expect, Storm has to face a new demon in the woman he married. Would she kill him on sight? She was certainly full of hate for him and had promised to do so, something Storm was resigned to. The prospect of his death at her hands certainly doesn’t stop him returning to her to hand her the gun with which to take his life. Perhaps his death is the only way to conclude his life, something he welcomes?

Overall, this was a very satisfactory read and it does make me wonder why Alman never wrote anymore westerns.

Ride the Long Night is part of an Ace Double book, paired with Gordon D. Shirreffs Apache Butte.

Apache Butte

By Gordon D. Shirreffs

Ace Books, 1960

The towering butte stood like the symbol of death, and Ken Driscoll rode right into the rocky bastion in the pursuit of his prey.

Loco and his Apaches were on a bloody warpath. The killing and ravaging would continue until Ken could find the men who were supplying the contraband whiskey that was driving the Indians to their deadly orgies.

Outnumbered by both savage red men and renegade white men, further burdened by the necessity of having to find legal proof, Ken knew that his chances of succeeding were about a thousand to one and his chances of surviving about a million to one. But high as the odds were, Ken was just that one man in a million who might dam the tidal wave of slaughter and live to tell.

Tough, gritty and at times brutal this fast paced story gripped from the very beginning, which sees Driscoll trying to avoid the Apaches and discovering a wandering little girl whilst doing so. Sadly, he has to kill her puppy to stop it yapping and giving their position away and this unfortunate act will have a part to play later in the tale.

It isn’t long before Driscoll is the unwanted guest of a group of hardcases and then their prisoner when a man from his past shows up. There are women too, as sensuous as the men are dangerous. Mistrust and double-cross become themes of the plot as Loco and his Apaches seem to keep Driscoll and his companions trapped in a ranch. There are questions about why Driscoll is here and his past, what is it he is really after?

Before the end Driscoll and a handful of men and women must take the fight to a much larger band of Apaches that are camped out on the top of the mesa, a monument of rock with only one trail up that is easy to defend. How they scale the heights provides some extremely suspenseful reading and as the death toll rises, I began to wonder if Driscoll, or any other person, would be alive by the end.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a story by Gordon D. Shirreffs, his sparce, hard-hitting writing style makes for a fast read and I found it to be an enjoyable book. I wasn’t quite convinced by the sudden attraction between Driscoll and one of the women – they hadn’t really had any interaction with each other and then they were kissing – but the rest of the tale more than made up for that.

Apache Butte is a short story, it comes in at 113 pages in this Ace Double Novel. It’s paired with the slightly longer Ride the Long Night by E.A. Alman, an author I’m unfamiliar with, so I’m looking forward to reading that very soon.