The Loom of Lies

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. In the drought-stricken Bunch Grass valley, where heat, hard labor, and cattle rustling have worn the JHF ranch to the bone, John "the Baptist" Fann and his wife, Ma, face a crisis that cuts deeper than loss. Bob Kern and Splinter Martin uncover the truth: Barr Wyeth, now tied to the Lightning ranch and married into the family, has been stealing cattle from JHF, and the evidence threatens to expose a betrayal no one wants to name aloud. When Sheriff Chet Gunning begins pressing his case, political ambition, rumor, and old resentments turn the investigation into a public scandal. Then John is shot from behind and robbed of eight thousand dollars, and suspicion hardens into danger. Bob, Splinter, Ma, and the doctor race to piece together the morning's events while tracking the shooter's trail, including the telltale bar-shoe marks. In town, the Buck Horn saloon becomes the center of gossip, fear, and urgent speculation, with Buck Kelly watching the situation closely as talk of Barr Wyeth threatens to spark violence. Against a backdrop of loyalty, shame, and frontier justice, the ranch community must decide whether to protect its own or face the truth.