Jesse James #15

Jesse James breaks up a stagecoach robbery in Paradise Valley and reunites with his Uncle Drury James, only to discover that a ruthless gambler named Hank Burdock has been terrorizing the family with threats and holdups. After confronting Burdock in town and winning big at cards, Jesse sets out to drive the villain from California—but Burdock's desperation leads to a final reckoning on the trail. This tale of frontier justice and family loyalty shows why Jesse James became a legend in the West.

When California gold strikes fuel demand for secure transport, Wells Fargo's coaches become targets—and one unusually civilized bandit named Black Bart becomes the most confounding threat they've ever faced. Armed with nothing but a sawed-off shotgun, a flour sack hood, and a knack for leaving poetry in the safes he empties, Bart outwits guards and detectives alike through sheer nerve and cunning. His cat-and-mouse game with the company's agents proves that the deadliest outlaw doesn't always ride a horse or wear a six-gun.

Black Bart, the notorious outlaw poet, faces off against Wells Fargo as the company deploys extra guards and heavier security to stop his stage robberies. When a cunning trap and a hidden gunman force Bart to improvise his way out of one ambush, he emerges wounded but undeterred—determined to prove that no locked box or armed escort can keep him from striking again. With a month to heal and fresh schemes in mind, Bart tests Wells Fargo's defenses one robbery at a time, leaving behind taunting notes and bodies in his wake.

This 1953 Jesse James tale opens with a historical fact about Cortez introducing horses to North America in 1521, then shifts to the story of Range City, where the ruthless Red Busher seizes control through intimidation and violence, extorting money from every business in town. When old prospector Tim Planter discovers gold along Roaring River and spreads the news, the discovery sets off a chain of events that will test whether greed or justice holds greater sway in the dusty West.