Rocky Lane Western #86

Rocky Lane squares off against Shell Buckman, a tough rustler with a fearsome reputation and a crew of thirty gunmen at his command—but the marshal knows that raw intimidation is all the big man really has. Rather than simply arrest him, Rocky sets out to expose Buckman as a coward and bully to the locals who've fallen under his spell, especially young Teddy Voss. When Buckman's pride finally pushes him into the open, Rocky gets his chance to prove it.

Rocky Lane, a lean trail rider fresh off the Chisholm Trail, spots Black Jack—a vicious stallion trained by schemer Buck Reilly to be unrideable and the subject of high-stakes betting around town. When Rocky puts up his own money for a chance to ride the outlaw horse, he discovers Reilly's dirty tricks and gets a second chance to prove himself in the saddle. What follows is a wild ride that changes everything for both man and horse.

Rocky Lane's trusted stallion Black Jack has been running away from town at every opportunity, leaving the Secret Marshal puzzled—until Rocky discovers the horse bearing fresh claw marks from a puma fight. When Rocky follows Black Jack into the hills the next morning, he and his companion Mack find the stallion wasn't abandoning his duties at all, but protecting an orphaned colt from a pack of timber wolves. Black Jack's loyalty runs deeper than anyone suspected, and Rocky realizes his noble horse deserves all the freedom he needs to help those who can't fend for themselves.

Rocky Lane faces down a desperate fugitive who's rigged a shack full of dynamite with a burning fuse, demanding guns, a horse, and money before the explosives detonate. With only seconds remaining before the blast, Rocky must call Barker's bluff and gamble that nerve—not explosives—will decide the outcome. A tense Western standoff where one man's certainty proves more powerful than ten seconds of burning fuse.