The Bootheel

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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All sixteen year-old TYLER ever wanted was to be a cowhand. VIRGIL HUTT, The Bootheels owner, brought the orphan boy to the ranch and raised him like a son. Then Hutt sent for the outlaw CASE SPENCER, a grim-faced gunman like the men in Tylers dime novels.

The father who Spencer never knew was Hutts best friend and partner. Rumors claim he was killed by DALTON FOX somewhere in Mexicos Valley of Visions. The only clue is a hand-drawn map and a rusty Colt pistol.

More than finding out what happened, Hutt knows its time for Tyler to learn things he wont have time to teach him. The old man is dying and he wants Tyler to take over The Bootheel when hes gone. Hutt tells Spencer the story about his father and says hell pay for the expedition to find out what happened, if Spencer agrees to take Tyler with him. Spencer calls the old man a fool and storms away from the ranch.

Word comes that rustlers have made off with The Bootheels cattle. Tyler, Hutt and the other ranchhands find the outlaws at dawn. Spencer has followed them. During the gunfight he saves Tyler from the marauders. They find a captive Indian girl, LUAK, in the rustlers camp and take her back to The Bootheel.

To avoid a warrant for his arrest, Spencer agrees to take Tyler on the journey. With Luak as their guide, they leave the Bootheel for Mexico and head for Luaks village near the Valley of Visions. Though Luak cant speak a word of English, Tylers affection for her grows. He fears they are being followed by Foxs gang and questions if he has the courage to protect Luak.

While Spencer is away scouting, Fox and his men capture Tyler and Luak. They leave Tyler on the mules back with a noose around his neck and ride away with Luak. Tyler will hang when the mule gets thirsty and goes for water.

Spencer watches from a hillside. He waits until Foxs gang is gone, hurries in and saves Tyler.

The grand adventure Tyler looked forward to turns into a quest to rescue Luak. He tells Spencer hell do anything to get her back, but fears he will turn as cruel as Spencer. Those doubts are soon tested when Tyler finds his rifle sights centered on the back of one of the men who stole Luak. Tyler pulls the trigger.

Spencer finds Luaks raped and tortured body. Driven by his own need for revenge, he keeps the news from Tyler, fearing it will be too much for the boy. When the two find shelter from a desert thunderstorm with a Mexican witch, she tells Tyler that Luak is dead. In a rage, Tyler confronts Spencer. The anger Tyler fought to control takes over. The boy vows he will kill Fox.

As Tyler's fury threatens the last shreds of his innocence, Spencer finds that his redemption lies not in his dark past, but in protecting the young man's future.

They track Luaks killers to her village. A lightning storm batters the village as Spencer and Tyler attack Fox. Spencers plan to keep Tyler on the edge of the danger fails. Its Tyler that faces Fox in a gunfight inside a shadowy church. Tyler guns down Luaks killer.

The rainstorm uncovers a shallow grave in the church yard. Evidence found with the bones proves the skeleton to be Spencers father. Tyler helps Spencer re-bury the body in a proper grave.

When they return to The Bootheel, Mister Hutt is dead. His will leaves the ranch to Tyler and Spencer. The ranch offers a new start for Spencer. He chooses it over the adventure of his old life.

On the quest to find Spencers father, Tyler saw things he never dreamed of and lost Luak, his first love. He saddles his horse and leaves Spencer at The Bootheel to cleanse himself in the uncertainty of a new journey.