From the massive archive...
Lone McGantry
has done a lot of things over the years and some of the jobs were difficult and
nasty. The latest job has the potential to be seriously annoying. He really
does not want to be a taking a bunch of wealthy English folks on an excursion
from North Platte, Nebraska out to the Sandhills. But, he got roped into this
mess by Buffalo Bill Cody himself. Telling Buffalo Bill no is a near
impossibility and as a result
McGantry said
yes when contacted by the foreign nobility. Even if he is increasingly of the
mind that this is a super bad idea, McGantry isn’t one to go back on his word.
There also a nice payday in store once all is said and done. As Buffalo Bill
pointed out in his telegram, the English folks have money and are willing to
spend it so at least some of it should come his way.
For Lone
McGantry there are not a lot of ways to make money in the Nebraska panhandle of
the 1880s. An English Lord by the name of Reginald Haddenforth, his wife, Lady
Claire, and several others in the party intend to sightsee and hunt Buffalo.
Lord Haddenforth and his wife have hunted boar in Germany’s Black Forest as
well as gone on safari to Africa three times. Lord Haddenforth writes books
about his adventures and intends to do the same regarding the Sandhill
extension. All that is well and good, but Lone McGantry is of the opinion that
women should stay in town where they belong and those going out on the
expedition need to understand that the old west is dangerous and needs to be
taken seriously.
For Lone
McGantry and his men, life in the old west is not some grand adventure to be
had before returning to a plush chair to sip cognac by a roaring fire. For men
of McGantry’s ilk, the old west is their way of life and absolute reason for
being. It is in their soul. It comes with, at times, a brutal cost. It isn’t
to be trivialized in some book. A hard and painful lesson Lord Haddenforth and
his party have repeated opportunities to learn over the next few days.
Originally
published several years ago by Oak Tree Press, an e-book version was recently
published by Bil-Em-Ri-Media. First of a series, Dismal River is another
example of why author Wayne D. Dundee is nominated for many awards and wins quite a few. Complicated
characters, plenty of action, and plenty of mystery in a western setting makes
Dismal River a mighty good read.
Material was
recently picked up to read and review by way of funds in my Amazon Associate
account.
Kevin R. Tipple
©2015, 2023
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