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The Range Guardian
(from the book jacket)
Uncle Hoddy Dobbs, owner of the HD Ranch, was fit to be tied. He had just received a letter from his brother, Jim, saying that Jim's young son, Adelbert Falmouth, needed to be taken in hand and strongly disciplined - and so Jim was sending Bert - a sometime student at several Eastern schools - out West to learn to be a cowboy at the experienced hand of his uncle. But Hoddy Dobbs did not want to be shackled with a "fancy Easterner" and decided to play a devilish trick on his nephew.
With the aid of his trusty ranch hands, Dobbs planned to fake a holdup of the stagecoach that would bring Bert Dobbs to Eagle City from the town of Stockade. A notorious bandit, the Red Mask, was being hunted in the area. The stagecoach driver and even the sheriff himself were in on the ruse, and all awaited with glee the train that would arrive in Stockade with Adelbert Falmouth Dobbs.
No one could know, of course that Bert Dobbs had a guardian angel - not even Bert. For Waldo Emerson Watson was an old cowpoke who appeared miraculously to protect Bert from mishap - and that is exactly what Bert Dobbs falls into from the moment the stage is held up - by the real Red Mask.
Uncle Hoddy Dobbs, owner of the HD Ranch, was fit to be tied. He had just received a letter from his brother, Jim, saying that Jim's young son, Adelbert Falmouth, needed to be taken in hand and strongly disciplined - and so Jim was sending Bert - a sometime student at several Eastern schools - out West to learn to be a cowboy at the experienced hand of his uncle. But Hoddy Dobbs did not want to be shackled with a "fancy Easterner" and decided to play a devilish trick on his nephew.
With the aid of his trusty ranch hands, Dobbs planned to fake a holdup of the stagecoach that would bring Bert Dobbs to Eagle City from the town of Stockade. A notorious bandit, the Red Mask, was being hunted in the area. The stagecoach driver and even the sheriff himself were in on the ruse, and all awaited with glee the train that would arrive in Stockade with Adelbert Falmouth Dobbs.
No one could know, of course that Bert Dobbs had a guardian angel - not even Bert. For Waldo Emerson Watson was an old cowpoke who appeared miraculously to protect Bert from mishap - and that is exactly what Bert Dobbs falls into from the moment the stage is held up - by the real Red Mask.
191 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1972
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April 18, 2018
The Range Guardian is a western, and draws on the culture of the Old West to tell its story. Set in Arizona, young Dobbs' father sends him to learn how to be a cowboy at the hands of his Uncle Hoddy. As he arrives in town, though, his uncle decides the best way to start him on the straight path of redemption is to scare some sense into him. When a planned practical joke goes awry, everyone will have the chance to see Dobbs rise to the occasion, or fail miserably. His guardian angel Waldo Emerson Watson may be able to help him with the former, if he can figure out just how this whole "help one another" thing actually works. Meanwhile, Dobbs wonders just what his father has gotten him into, and so do all the ranch hands under Uncle Hoddy's employ.
Adelbert Dobbs has the most sense of all the characters, ironically, since they are all meant to bring him to heel. I liked this character, but I wasn't too fond of most of the rest of the cast. The practical joke was just begging to go wrong from the start, and much of the book saw the men who should be helping mold a boy acting like boys themselves. I think introducing the guardian angel aspect, while a bit clumsy, kept the plot moving forward well enough.
Adelbert Dobbs has the most sense of all the characters, ironically, since they are all meant to bring him to heel. I liked this character, but I wasn't too fond of most of the rest of the cast. The practical joke was just begging to go wrong from the start, and much of the book saw the men who should be helping mold a boy acting like boys themselves. I think introducing the guardian angel aspect, while a bit clumsy, kept the plot moving forward well enough.
Displaying 1 of 1 review