The Gun Fight PDF
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John Benton was one of the toughest men ever to wear a Texas Ranger badge. But eight years ago, in August 1871, he hung up his guns for good.
Or so he hoped.
Then young Robby Coles challenged him to a fight over some imagined slight to the boy’s sixteen-year-old girlfriend. At first Benton tried to laugh off the affair. Why, the boy was little more than a child. But rumors and gossip spread like wildfire through their dusty frontier town and soon enough the entire community seems to be goading both men towards a fatal confrontation neither one truly wants.
Benton doesn’t want to kill again. Robby is secretly terrified of facing the legendary gunfighter. Yet, with both men’s honor on the line, is there any way to avoid a duel to the death?
From Publishers WeeklyEx-Texas Ranger John Benton was once known as the fastest gun in the West, and his legend still looms large in Kellville, Texas. Louisa Harper, in an attempt to hasten a slowly blooming romance with her nebbishy fiance Robby Coles, lies to her suitor about untoward advances made by the retired lawman. Mustering his courage, Robby approaches Benton at the local saloon to demand an apology. News of the ensuing scuffle travels fast, eventually reaching Louisa's spinster aunt Agatha, the town busybody, and Robby's control-freak father, Matthew. As eager to tarnish Benton's popularity as he is to avoid being branded the father of a coward, the elder Coles goads his son into defending his fiancee's honor in a duel. The impending conflict is further ensured by Agatha's self-righteous fury. Meanwhile, Benton, equally misguided by his own notion of honor, must clear up the misunderstanding before he is forced into a shootout which would likely result in young Coles's death. Matheson ( Journal of the Gun Years ) has crafted an engrossing account of the frequently deadly consequences of mistaking vanity for honor.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
YA-In Millview, Texas, on August 13, 1871, lawman John Benton took off his gun and swore never to wear it again. Eight years later, he is forced to rethink his decision when an innocent young woman, Louisa Harper, tries to make her boyfriend jealous with a story that the famous officer made advances toward her. Goaded by his father and friends to defend Louisa's honor, Robby challenges Benton to a gunfight. Written in the traditional Western style, this substantive story addresses several moral issues, and the rather illusive term "honor" is made crystal clear. YAs will identify with Louisa and Robby, and will understand the damages, dangers, and far-reaching implications of lying about another person. An action-packed, suspenseful tale.
Carol P. Clark, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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