Rocky Lane Western #86

Rocky Lane was not a secret marshal when he first saw the stallion Black Jack—a lean and hungry trail rider hitting the town after months of eating dust and fighting rustlers on the Chisholm Trail. Rocky recognized the claw marks indicating Black Jack was an outlaw, but the sharp-shooting gambler who was making a fortune betting on the stallion claimed it would be his if Rocky wanted it. When Rocky refused, Black Jack became restless all night, and the next morning Rocky saddled him up and secured the reins over the saddle horn before the stallion took off for the hills, with Rocky following on horseback and urging his companion Mack to come along as Black Jack raced urgently ahead into an arroyo.