Skeleton Lode

The chase is on and the stakes are high in this western in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series.

They’re ex-cowpunchers looking to strike it rich—and not having much success.  When they deliver a wagon of scotch to a shantytown saloon, the bartender drops dead before paying. No sooner do they take over the bar as payment than it burns to the ground. The cloud above Arlo Wells and Dallas Holt has no silver lining…
 
They finally get a break when they receive a message from an old friend, along with a map. It seems the grizzled prospector finally hit the mother lode in the Superstitious Mountains, only to die shortly thereafter.  His last wish was for the two boys to find his beloved nieces and share the claim with them—easy money, except for a few minor problems…

Like the despicable stepfather who’s got the nieces, a gang of hired gunmen, and the other half of the map and the Apaches who’ll slaughter anyone daring to tread the ground of their sacred mountains. For Arlo and Dallas, this lucky break may be the worst thing ever to happen to them…
 
More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!Praise for the novels of Ralph Compton

“Compton offers readers a chance to hit the trail and not even end up saddle sore.”—Publishers Weekly

“Compton writes in the style of popular Western novelists like Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey…thrilling stories of Western legend.”—The Huntsville Times (AL)

“If you like Louis L’Amour, you’ll love Ralph Compton.”—Quanah Tribune-Chief (TX)Ralph Compton stood six-foot-eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series.