Stranger in Thunder Basin

JOHN D. NESBITT FOUR - TIME WINNER OF THE SPUR AWARD


Edward Dawes is a small boy when a stranger comes to call and shoots down his grandfather. Ed remembers what the assassin looked like. Years later, working in a blacksmith shop, Ed sees the man, learns his name, and finds out he works for a rancher named Mort Ramsey.


Ed learns to do ranch work so he can work his way into that world. He meets an old drunk who knows a great deal, and he meets a girl named Ravenna, who is an orphan like himself. Ed goes to work on Ramsey’s ranch, where he has to deal with a lackey who catches him at his detective work. The old assassin seems to be onto him, and Ed has a confrontation with him. He goes to see the old drunk for more information, and the drunk tells him to go ask a woman named Leah Corrigan. The woman treats him like a stranger. Stonewalled, Ed goes back to the old drunk to draw out more of the shadowy stories from the past.


Ed goes to Ravenna and tells her that he is piecing together the details of his early life. He tells her that he has to go once more to the ranch in Thunder Basin, and he hopes to be able to see her again.