Hanging Woman Creek, is yet again an original western story. This is one of his shorter ones, coming in at exactly 150 pages in my copy. It's the story of Baranbus "Pronto" Pike who, for a change, is no gun fighter and not really much of a fist fighter either although he has found himself in many such scraps over the years. He meets up with Edie, a boxer, who also happens to be black, and together they look to survive a rugged Montana winter while making plans to start their own horse/cattle ranch. Edie teaches Pike the finer arts of boxing which come in handy at the end of the story. But they come across an old friend of Pike's who apparently, has gotten mixed up with the bad side of the law and before you know it, Pike and Edie are in the fight of their lives. As always with a L'Amour book, good triumphs over evil and there is a happy ending.
Pike is an unusual protagonist for L'Amour in that he is not the quiet, reserved gunfighter that we often see. The story is told from the first person perspective and it becomes obvious very soon in the story that Pike is not cut from the normal hero mold of so many westerns. That's probably what I like most about this book. The way in which the author weaves historical elements of life between the Little Big Horn and the Powder Rivers in 1885 with the action of cattle rustling, bar fights and, of course, a blossoming romance, makes for a great western read.
And I still have 5 more L'Amour titles to read...
"A Greek Tragedy" was the next title in Jeffrey Archer's short story collection, Cat O' Nine Tales. This one was very different, not a jail-related story at all but rather a true tragedy whereby a wonderful, much loved elderly man is in the wrong place at the wrong time and unknowingly sacrifices himself, saving several other lives. It is difficult to describe without giving away spoilers so I won't attempt it. Suffice it to say it was an enjoyable story but with a sad ending.
Next up: William Gibson's Pattern Recognition.
