Trail Ends at Hell

by John Benteen

Kilpatrick fought drought, floods, rustlers and Indians to get the herd to the Kansas railhead. That was only the start of his troubles. // Trail Boss. Kilpatrick brought the herd of longhorns a thousand miles from Texas, through some of the worst country on earth. He fought drought, floods, rustlers and Indians along the way. That was the easy part. Now the herd was penned up at the Kansas railhead and his men were set to run wild with four months pay in their jeans. The townfolk liked Texas cows and hated Texas cowboys. Maybe they had some good reasons, but Kilpatrick wasn't one for any kind of deep thinking. They were his boys and--right or wrong--he had to back them all the way. He was the trail boss, the ramrod--the man with the damnedest combination of jobs on the whole frontier. To keep his job he had to be tougher, smarter, faster with a gun than any man around. // From Inside Front A Town Called Gunsight. It was late that evening when Gunsight came into view. Kilpatrick checked the road at the crest of a rise and his eyes went to the town, sliced in two by the blue steel rails. North of the tracks lay the business district and five blocks of houses, mostly the color of raw lumber. The area south of the rails pulled Kilpatrick's gaze away. That was where his hands would hit, where they would spend their wages--the District. Every cowtown had a District--a hell's broth of saloons, gambling dens, brothels and dance hall. Gunsight's District was bigger than usual. That was where the trouble would start.

Genres: Westerns

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Pseudonym used by Ben Haas.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, fast-moving, and full of surprises.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good western as trail boss rides into Gunsight, Kansas to find the odds stacked against him. He decides to even those odds and all hell breaks loose. Excellent, has everything you would want in a western: A pretty and spunky gal, cowardly skunks, tough men and fast horses. Lots of action and can be read in about four hours. Recommended to western fans.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A standalone western by the author of the Fargo and Sundance series.