This western short story written by Tom Curry is about a land grab in the Salinas Valley of California. An outsider, Manfred Von Wohl, who was a Prussian immigrant to California, targeted the Californians who settled the land and built beautiful rancheros.
The bad things happen early and persist through the book. The first person to the rescue is David Kenny a farmer and civil war veteran from Pennsylvania. Looking for land he migrated from the east across the country looking for truly promising land to buy and farm. He observed the attempt to kill off the Castro brothers and lent a helping hand and got totally involved in the saving of the family.
The Rio Kid, Robert Pryor is coming to the rescue but is to late. His saddle partner, Celestino Mireles, is a cousin to the slain father to the boys Kenny saved. The Kid is stung by the murder and thievery and vows to stop it or die trying. He visits the outlaw strong hold and has to shoot his way out.
The local sheriff, Froleiks has joined with Von Wohl and almost puts the Kid away. Many more events happen that push the Kid and the good elements against the bad men. As the story progresses the reader learns of the railroad coming through the valley crossing the land that Von Wohl has stolen. This is the prime event triggering the land grab and devilments done by the bad guys.
This is a typical western story with good against evil. Murder and injustice push the good men to resort to extreme measures. The good side prevails and does the bad men in. Every western I read heightens my standards for an excellent read. This story is average in character development, plot, but believable in its dedication of the western theme. You need to read the book to truly judge for yourself. I enjoyed the book and I think a true western reader would under stand it as a western story about how some things happened.
