Books in the Harrison Wilke series

The final book in the Harrison Wilke trilogyTenderfoot Harrison Wilke leaves Colorado and heads for Nevada. Harrison's oldest and best friend, John J. Trohoe, has died in a mysterious accident, and John J.'s will names Harrison sole inheritor of the estate. The estate is a disputed mine called the Amelia One, which hasn't yet proved profitable. But a group of California investors who claim they hold the title think it might be very profitable indeed. For the first time in years, Harrison feels a freedom he thought he had forgotten. John J. taught him everything he knew about riding the "rods" under boxcars, and now Harrison is returning by that means to accept his legacy....

Harrison Wilke is thoroughly sick of Redbluff, Kansas. The town is a boring dead end, filled with unlettered roughnecks. His uncle Stewart - from whom he stands to inherit the Running W Ranch - can't stand him. Harrison doesn't even have enough money to get to the big city, where he belongs. There are few bright spots. Things begin to look up when Uncle Stewart turns up missing and feared dead while chasing rustlers. Then Harrison invests $4,000 in a very lucrative and secret deal. Of course Harrison "borrowed" the money from Uncle Stewart's safe. And Harrison also seems to be winning at love. But things do come crashing down....

Tenderfoot Harrison Wilke wondered about the three men: heavily armed, avoiding the town, carrying gold coin in their saddlebags. Alert. Surly. Arrogant. Robbers, Harrison concluded; they must have robbed a bank or a train. Harrison thought about the money in the saddlebags while he worked. He had no idea how much was there or where it might have come from. But he was convinced that these three unpleasant men had come by its possession dishonestly. The question was, what should he or could he do about it? As his hands moved at the routine tasks of dishwashing, he was beginning to get an idea….