Books in the Western Short Stories Collection series

They call him Suicide, Smoke or simply Sudden Death. His name is Kit Gordon, and from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, he is King of the Gunmen. As tall and lean and tough as a young John Wayne, Kit's about to discover that sometimes it takes more than a quick draw and a sure aim to stand up like a man.Falsely accused of murder and one step ahead of a lynch mob, Kit escapes to the next county overand a whole new identity. He changes his name and his whole outlook, teaming up with a lawman out to bring the rule of law to this untamed corner of Arizona.But the two men are soon drawn into the middle of a bloody feud between cattle ranchers and sheepherders. Before it's over, the battle will lead Kit to a moment of truth . . . or a lifetime of lies. He'll have to take a stand and reveal that he's a wanted manor turn tail and run for his life, never looking back.Born and raised in the twilight of the Old Westfrom Nebraska plain to the mountains of MontanaL. Ron Hubbard grew up in the company of real cowboys and rugged frontiersmen, even becoming a blood brother to a Blackfoot medicine man. His firsthand knowledge allowed him to instill a grit and authenticity into his stories that made him one of the leading writers of Westerns, publishing a total of 34 of them by the 1950s.Also includes the western adventure The No-Gun Gunhawk, the story of a legendary gunslinger's son who swears never to take up a gununtil he is forced to break his vow when it becomes a matter of life and death.

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line.Easy Bill Gates is just such a manas quick with a smile and as slow to anger as Gary Cooper in High Noon. He's a model of restraintuntil he's forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill's ranch and he's hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way.Between the rancher who wants to take his land, and the young guns who want to take his life, Easy Bill will have to make some hard choicesand fast drawsto avoid becoming just another notch in the Gunman's Tally. Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys, counting a Native American medicine man as one of his closest friends. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier.Also includes the Western adventure, Ruin at Rio Piedras, the story of a young cowboy kicked off a ranch for falling in love with the owner's daughteronly to devise a whip-smart plan to win the dayand the girl.';Outstanding.' Midwest Book Review

Mart Kincaid, a tall, ruggedly good-looking young man in the Clint Eastwood mold, may be the fastest gun in the state, but it does him no goodbecause his gun and his life are not his own. They belong to Gar Malone, the King of Concha Basin, a ruthless rancher driven by his thirst for power, wealth, and conquest.Now Gar has set his sights on the Singing Canyon spreadthe richest land in the basinand he commands Kincaid to run its true owners off. If not, he threatens to reveal a dark secret that could ruin Kincaid's brother.But there's more to the Singing Canyon ranch than Kincaid bargained for. There's the Drake familyspecifically the lovely young Sally Drake. The last thing Kincaid wants to do is drive her away. Meaning he's got to get out from under Gar's thumb, and put his trigger finger to work. It's time to settle up, once and for all, with the blackmailing Malone. Most of the Westerns published in the all-fiction magazines of the first half of the twentieth century were written by authors more familiar with the streets of New York than the cattle trails of Texas. Hubbard bucked the trend, and in the process changed the face of the Western adventure. He grew up in a time and a place where the Old West, though fading, still lived. His unique knowledge of the frontier, of its ways and its people, made him an authentic voice of this unique American experience.Also includes the Western adventure Blood on His Spurs, in which two men have to find a way to end their feud . . . or pay a high price in blood and money.';Heart-racing plot charges at the speed of thrumming horses' hooves.' Library Journal

In the Arizona territory, every mountain hides a fortuneand every man fends for himself. Tim Beckdolt,rangy and self-reliant, is as American as the frontier itself. But after spending eight treacherous months digging $175,000 in gold out of Desperation Peakall he has left is desperation. Two sadistic strangers have taken his gold, and now they want to take his life. He's on the runthe target of a Devil's Manhunt. In a time and a place where the only law is the law of survival, Beckdolt will have to live by his witsor die by the bullet.In 1932, Hubbard led a mining crew on a six-month West Indies Mineralogical Expedition in Puerto Ricothe first complete survey of the island since it had become an American territory. It was an experience that informs this title with remarkable realism. Also includes two additional Western tales: Johnny, the Town Tamer, the story of a local swindler who meets his match, and Stranger in Town, in which a drifter confronts a corrupt sheriffand his own dark past.';A thrilling novel of greed, violence, survival and perseverance, Devils Manhunt perfectly embodies the unbridled excitement of pulp fiction.' Midwest Book Review

Forged in the hot sun and sand of the Arizona desert, Chinook Shannon is as tough as they comeas steely-eyed and tall in the saddle as Randolph Scott. But Chinook is far from homein the north country of Montanaand facing a challenge as big as the territory itself.Following his grandfather's suspicious death, he's come to Montana to claim his inheritancethe family's cattle ranch. But the territory's crawling with bandits and bankers, and they all want a piece of Chinook's land. With foreclosure hanging over the ranch, Chinook's got exactly twenty-four hours to find out who killed his grandfather and become the Cattle King. He'll follow a trail of forgery, cattle rustling and murder to find the truth, knowing he has only one allyhis Colt Peacemaker.L. Ron Hubbard's detailed knowledge of ranch life and mining techniquesas well as the economics and legal issues surrounding mining and water rightsinforms Cattle King for a Day. He wrote: ';I became thoroughly acclimated to Montana ranch life and the very rough and tough atmosphere. . . . It was also a mining area, and I used to pan in these streams for pocket money.' It's no wonder, then, that these stories are pure gold.Also includes the Western adventure Come and Get It, the story of an Easterner who comes to Wyoming to find out who killed his fatherbut discovers that the only way to get justice is to cook up a new identity for himself.* An International Book Awards Finalist

Lynn Taylor and his kid brother Frank may not be angels, but they're not devils, either. They're just a couple of mentwo-fisted Texans who have landed on the wrong side of a corrupt lawman. And like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they're up to their necks in trouble.Young Frank's been framed for robbery, rustling and murder, and if Lynn doesn't think fast, his brother's going to end up the guest of dishonor at a hanging party. Lynn cooks up a daring plan to clear his brother's name and rope in the real outlaw.But it means Lynn will have to turn outlaw himself, and if he's caught, it'll be his neck on the lineand in the noose.Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier.Also includes the Western adventures, Ride 'Em Cowboy, the story of a man and woman's rodeo rivalry that leads to romance, and Boss of the Lazy B, in which a lady gets swindledand the swindler ultimately gets justice. ';Rough and tumble action with a twist, and all are a great read.' True West magazine* International Book Awards Finalist for best Western fiction 2012