Publisher Description

Hopalong Cassidy is one of the most enduring and popular heroes in frontier fiction. His legendary exploits in books, movies, and on television have blazed a mythic and unforgettable trail across the American West. Now, in the last of four Hopalong Cassidy novels written by Louis L'Amour, the immortal saddleman rides again—this time into a lonely valley of danger and death.
Hopalong Cassidy has received an urgent message from the dead. Answering an urgent appeal for help from fellow cowpuncher Pete Melford, he rides in only to discover that his old friends has been murdered and the ranch Pete left to his niece, Cindy Blair, had vanished without a trace. Hopalong may have arrived too late to save Pete, but his sense of loyalty and honor demands that he find that cold-blooded killers and return to Cindy what is rightfully hers.
Colonel Justin Tradwar, criminal kingpin of the town of Kachina, is the owner of the sprawling Box T ranch, and he has built his empire with a shrewd and ruthless determination. In search of Pete's killers and Cindy's ranch, Hopalong signs on at the Box T, promising to help get Tradway's wild cattle out of the rattler-infested brush. But in the land of mesquite and black chaparral, Cassidy confronts a mystery as hellish as it is haunting—a bloody trail that leads to the strange and forbidding Babylon plateau, to $60,000 in stolen gold, and to a showdown with an outlaw who has already cheated death once... and is determined to do it again.
When Clarence E. Mulfold—the original Hopalong Cassidy—retired, he chose the young Louis L'Amour to carry on the Hopalong tradition in four classic novels, including "The New York Times" best-sellers The Rustlers of West Fork, The Trail to Seven Pines, and The Riders of High Rock. Long out of print and now published for the first time under the author's own name, Trouble Shooter is a vividly authentic tale of the Old West that bears the unmistakable Louis L'Amour brand of swift, sure action, hard-fought justice, and frontier courage. Capturing the unquenchable thirst for adventure, the passions that drove men, and the perils that awaited the, in an untamed new land, this extraordinary early novel gives us Louis L'Amour at the height of his powers—an enduring testament to America's favorite storyteller.

Back Cover

Gone, But not Forgotten A desperate call for help sends Hopalong Cassidy to the aid of fellow cowpuncher Pete Melford. But when he arrives, Cassidy finds his friend murdered, and any indication of the ranch that Pete left his niece Cindy Blair has vanished without a trace. In search of Pete's killer and the location of Cindy's land, Hopalong signs on at the sprawling Box T ranch and confronts a mystery as dangerous as it is haunting. Colonel Justin Tredway, the owner of the Box T, has built his empire with a shrewd and ruthless determination. But behind his success lies a bloody trail leading to the strange and forbidding Babylon plateau, a fortune in gold, and a showdown with an outlaw who has cheated death once-and is determined to do it again.

Author Biography

LOUIS L'AMOUR (1908-1988) was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. He left school at 15 to travel the world. While in his thirties, he began writing novels about life on the Western frontier. His first big success, "Hondo," was made into a John Wayne movie. L'Amour wrote 100 books in all, which sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and several short stories.

Promotional "Headline"

"Hopalong Cassidy is one of the most enduring and popular heroes in frontier fiction. His legendary exploits in books, movies, and on television have blazed a mythic and unforgettable trail across the American West. Now, in the last of four Hopalong Cassidy novels written by Louis L'Amour, the immortal saddleman rides again-this time into a lonely valley of danger and death."

Excerpt from Book

Chapter One Mysterious Ambush Tote Brown could afford to wait. A man with a Winchester at two hundred yards has all the advantage over a man armed only with a pistol, and Tote intended to give his man plenty of time to get away from his horse and the rifle in its scabbard. The horse was tied to a willow bush within fifty yards of Tote''s concealment, and the rider was working his way farther and farther from the horse. To get his rifle he would have to run toward Tote and right into the muzzle of his Winchester. Why the man was to be killed Tote neither knew nor cared. But he did not know who had employed him for the job, and that he did not like. He only knew that he had been directed to a secret hiding place where he had found two hundred and fifty dollars and a message made of words cut from a book. The same amount was to come later, if he killed his man. Tote wiped the tobacco juice from his mouth and settled himself more comfortably into the grass. This was better than the old days when he had been hired to kill rustlers and nesters by the Atley outfit; they had always paid him in the same way, but that had been far from here. The fact that somebody nearby knew him from those days was obvious, but in the past he had received only one hundred dollars per man. Five hundred was more like it. Of the present case he knew nothing. He had been told the man would be here, near this place, at approximately this time, and if he refused the job he would be letting himself in for trouble. The message from the hollow tree had been very explicit. The words were simple but expressive. Deal McCarty is still alive. One of Tote''s last killings had been a McCarty, and Deal was the wily, gunfighting father of the dead man, a very forthright individual who, if he knew where Tote was, would waste no time in killing him. The implication of the note was obvious, and Tote chose to obey orders and take the money. He rolled his quid in his jaws and spat. The man below was not more than twenty-five, sandy-haired and well dressed for a cowhand. He wore a gun like he knew how to use it, but what he was doing in this lonely valley of the Picket Fork, Tote had no idea. Obviously the man was searching for something. He had taken a sight on a hill, then walked across to a grove. Now he was studying the valley again, and his puzzled attitude was plain to the watcher. Tote sighted his rifle again, but as yet the stranger was not in the right spot. Moving as he now was, the fellow would soon be crossing a clearing near a lightning-wrecked cottonwood that was somewhat less than two hundred yards away and in the open. If Tote missed, the following shots would be easy, for there would be no cover. Tote Brown did not intend to miss. Twice the young man knelt and examined the ground. He pulled grass and looked at the roots. Curious, Tote watched with interest. Finally the fellow approached a huge old tree and examined it and the ground around it. Then he paced off an area and looked around again. What was he looking for? This was not gold country, although it might be buried gold. Possibly something buried here had been found, and the finder did not want this man to know. From his previous inspection of the terrain, Tote was quite sure this man had been here before in the past few days. There were a good many tracks made by this horse and another. That could be the reason. Perhaps the continued search was worrying whoever wanted him killed. Again and again the man returned to one particular tree. Through his glasses Tote could see the young man muttering to himself, could see his puzzled, worried expression. Suddenly the sandy-haired man pulled his hat down and stared right across the clearing toward Tote! The Winchester lifted and Brown moved his left elbow forward, setting it firmly in the earth under the rifle barrel. He looked along the barrel at the man striding toward him. It was going to be easy, mighty easy. As the man advanced, the sights moved up his body. When it reached his heart, Tote Brown would fire. As he cuddled his cheek lovingly against the rifle stock, his finger moved to the trigger. Suddenly fire lashed along his ribs. Involuntarily he jerked aside and his rifle leaped in his hands, fired by the tightening of his grip, a spasmodic, unplanned move that sent the bullet splintering off through the high branches of the cottonwoods, the two reports, his own and that from the mysterious shot fired at him, blending into one. Lunging to his feet, Tote plunged into the brush, shocked into blind panic and knowing only that he wanted to be somewhere else. He hit his saddle on the run, and the frightened horse took off at breakneck speed with Tote fighting for the off stirrup. Within a mile he had recovered his sense, but his heart still pounded. Hastily he rode into the Picket Fork and began to double and weave like a dizzy rattler to lose any pursuers there might be. He had been seen. Someone had glimpsed him just as he was about to fire, and had fired first. His ribs burned fiercely, and he could feel the dampness of blood, yet the shock of the bullet was as nothing to the shock of realization that he had been caught in the act of killing. Slowing down, he opened his shirt and stared at the ugly wound. It was wicked in appearance, but the shot had only ripped open the skin along his ribs on the right side. Tote Brown glanced back over his shoulder. If recognized, he had only two courses: to leave the country or be lynched. The cattle country had no liking for dry gulchers. He began to take his time, the panic wearing off, trying to lose his trail in the maze of boulders or in the Picket Fork itself. He did not believe he had been recognized, but I worried him that he did not know who had fired that shot, or who the sandy-haired stranger might be. He would investigate both questions, and when he knew, he would take care of the man who fired that shot. He''d show him! Viciously he jabbed the spurs into the cayuse and started to gallop. He''d show him! Rig Taylor stared after the man in astonishment. He could not make up his mind whether he had heard one shot or two, but whoever had been lying there in the grass had sure snapped out of it. Walking forward, he looked around. Obviously, from the crushed grass, the man had been lying here for some time, evidently watching his every move. But why? The sound of a walking horse turned him swiftly his hand poised above his gun. A tall, well-built man in a rumpled duster sat astride a magnificent white horse facing him. The man''s hair showed silver under the brink of his dark hat and his blue eyes were friendly. "Your friend lit out in a hurry," he said. "What was he gunning for you for?" "I''ve no idea why anybody would be gunning for me," Rig Taylor said. "I''m not even known around here, and where I came from I''ve no enemies that matter much." "Stranger, are you?" The silver-haired man smiled. "Well, so am I. I rode down to look up an old friend of mine. We punched cows together down in Texas." "Reckon you saved my neck," Taylor admitted. "I''m Rig Taylor, from Kansas. I came out here with my boss to ramrod a ranch for her, but now we can''t find the ranch." "That''s something to lose." Hopalong Cassidy shoved his hat back on his head and looked around. "Is that what you were hunting?" "Look," Taylor said, "this here''s the valley of the Picket Fork. The river lies right over yonder. The description Pete Melford sent my boss would put the ranch right where we stand, and the house should set right there where that big old tree stands, but there''s no sign of any ranch or sign there ever was one. I reckon the old coot was crazy." "Maybe I can help look," Cassidy suggested. "My name''s Cameron. Tell me about it." Rig Taylor dug out the makings and rolled a smoke. While he built the cigarette he filled in what there was to tell. His boss was Cindy Blair, and she was Pete Melford''s niece. Pete had written to tell her he was leaving his ranch to her, and all the stock that went with it. He wanted her to come out and join him, but the ranch was hers in any event. Cindy owned a ranch in Kansas, but the range was growing smaller as farmers moved and began to break the land to plow. Pete Melford had unexpectedly died, and after a while Cindy sold out her few remaining possessions and with her foreman she headed west to take over the ranch Melford had left to her. "We reached Kachina a couple of days ago and started inquirin'', but nobody had ever heard of the ranch nor of Melford himself. There was supposed to be a four-room cabin on the place, a barn, corrals, and a good well. But there''s no sign of anything of the kind!" "How long ago was his letter written?" "About three years ago. He was in ''Frisco, starting for the ranch, he said. But later she got another letter from someone who claimed to be a friend saying that Pete had died. According to them he was thrown from his horse and rolled down a canyon, somewhere near Columbia, California." Hopalong Cassidy''s expression remained the same, but he was doing some fast thinking. Back in the Bar-20 days, he had seen Pete Melford break some bad horses, and he was not a man to be thrown from any horse he would be riding on a long trip. Pete, old as he was, had been a superlative rider, and he made a practice of avoiding horses he did not know. Yet Cassidy''s own presence here was also due to a letter from Melford, one that showed a premonition of trouble to come. The letter had been long delayed in delivery owing to Hop

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