Broken Wheel Ranch

the long version

Clark Hudson saw the mark of outlaw stamped on Fred Hayes' face, yet he could not be perfectly certain that Hayes had committed the murder for which he was being tried in court. Nevertheless, the jury of which Clark was the foreman decided the man was guilty and sent him to jail. That won for Hudson Hayes' undying enmity and the gratitude of Jed Porter, owner of the Walking L in Porter Valley. It also brought him an offer to work on Hayes' former spread, the Broken Wheel, which Tom Morton had bought and which he wanted to keep from being swallowed up by Porter. In such a situation, Clark found it hard to tell friends from enemies. The only thing he could be certain of was that there would be blood on the grass, and that wherever he was working he would be stained by it.