JOHN D. NESBITT

FOUR - TIME WINNER OF THE SPUR AWARD

When Will Dryden is let out of jail, a woman named Mrs. Welles tells him her husband, Al Vetch, is missing and she needs someone to try to find him. Dryden hears there might be a job at a ranch called the Redstone, where a young cowhand was found dead. Dryden meets Ingram, the foreman; Max Aden, a troublemaker; Donovan, the owner; Blanche, who runs the kitchen; and Pearl, an Indian girl who works in the kitchen. Donovan seems to have a proprietary interest in Pearl. Dryden will find out that Donovan has a scheme to grab up land for the oil beneath and that Donovan hired Al Vetch to snuff the young cowhand for getting too close to Pearl and for trying to know too much. Mrs. Welles sends for Dryden. She says she thinks her husband came here to be with Blanche and to do some kind of dirty work. Dryden has a fling with Mrs. Welles. Dryden sees Blanche taking food and water to a hideout in a stone building near the house. He deduces that Al Vetch is inside. Dryden shoots Vetch, Ingram, and Aden. Then he shoots Donovan, who is holding Pearl hostage. Dryden tells Pearl that if she would like to get out of this place, she can go with him. They ride away together.