El Gato had murdered Stantiago's wife, imprisoned his son and daughter, and destroyed his reputation. Now El Gato was a corned rat and Santiago was ready...the whips had been made for a death duel, just long enough, and strong enough, to curl around a man's neck and crack it.

"The gang called themselves the Scorpions, and when they struck, they were as swift, silent and fatal as the vicious animals that inspired their name. They would loot and kill with abandon as they rode through Texas, and return with their ill-gotten booty to a hideout in Mexico. No one had ever dared to stop their lawless rampages, but their luck was running out. Tucson Smith was an easygoing sort -- slow-talking and not easily riled. He didn't make...

"Tucson Smith was outnumbered. His little band of four gunfighters was holed up in a ramshackle ghost-town hotel ... waiting. Dirk Barrington and his dozen henchmen set up camp at the Blue Bird across the street and down a way from the hotel. Somewhere hidden in this dead town was a hidden cache of gold ... and both sides were ready to die for it"--Provided by publisher.

"Chuck Jenkins was in trouble. Framed into a fight and then thrown into jail, he had only a few more days to raise the money to pay for his T-Bench ranch or forfeit it to Craig Kimball and Fisher Cochrane. There was nothing to do but call on his old friend Lightning Swift for help"--

Jake Glendon was dead. It could have been suicide -- but it looked a lot like murder. Either way, it was good news, so no one cared much one way or the other about the details. Folks would dance on his grave. But when the Three Mesquiteers -- Tucson Smith, Lullaby Joslin and Stony Brooke -- rode off after discovering the body, they had no idea that they had actually ridden into one of the toughest cases in their long career of unofficial outlaw-busting....

Hawk Nielson was quick-on-the-draw, ruthless -- and the most powerful man on the range. His holdings spread over thousands of acres and his power spread from one end of the Mesa to the other. His enemies were plenty -- all those he had cheated and crushed. Vard Whitlock had more reason to hate him than most. Land and money were the things Hawk cared about, until he had a son. Then his pride almost matched his greed. At last, Vard knew how to strike...