Monte Hale Western #38

Monte Hale rides through the gray hills with his horse Pardner when he intercepts Jim Grant, a fugitive trapper who warns him of a massive Crow war party led by Chief Angry Bear heading south toward the settlement of Little Bow. With time running out, Monte and Jim must find a way through the enemy lines to warn the townspeople and summon help from Fort Cranby, but Jim’s fear and past shame threaten to derail the mission.

In the midst of a panic over a supposed bubonic plague, Monte Hale grows suspicious when the traveling con man Doc Blabber declares a man in town is infected, urging everyone to flee. While the townsfolk evacuate, Monte stays behind and uncovers a shocking truth: the "sick" man is actually a stooge, and the real doctor, Doc Schmidt, has been kidnapped. As Monte and the freed doctor piece together the scam, they realize the entire plague scare was a ruse to clear the town so Blabber and his partner Sneed could loot it undisturbed.

Monte Hale stumbles upon a remote ranch run entirely by women, led by the fiercely independent Donna, after rescuing their cattle from quicksand. When rustlers steal more of their herd, Lucy Belle secretly enlists Monte’s help—under the guise of a new female worker named Mary Hale—so he can infiltrate the ranch and stop the outlaws without breaking the women’s vow to reject men.

Gabby Hayes, boasting of his past as a famed tightrope walker, finds himself challenged by Sly Sam Jones to prove his claims by walking a high rope across Main Street for charity. As the townspeople gather and Gabby prepares to perform, he must confront not only his own nerves but also Sly Sam Jones, who has a far more dangerous plan in mind.