Ellis Bowman felt like a rat in a trap. He

had been carrying a large sum of his own

money when he rode into unfamiliar ter-

ritory. Entering Custer Meadow in

Batesville County was not just the worst

mistake of his life; it might cost him his

life!

It all started one night when he met a

man named Sam Hanks. The following

morning Hanks was gone and so was Ellis s

horse. But at least Ellis was not stranded,

because Hanks had left behind his own

horse. Then Marshal Thompson and

some possemen rode up and arrested

Ellis--a man answering Ellis s description,

riding the same kind of horse, had robbed

the Batesville bank! How could he hope to

prove his innocence fi-om a locked jail cell?

Even if he could, what was to stop a not-so-

honest marshal from killing Ellis and

keeping the moneybelt for himself?

But the trap turns out to be larger than

Ellis Bowman--or the mysterious Sam

Hanks--could have guessed. A fast-paced

western about small-town greed and big-

time deceptions.