Dead Man's Gold: A Western Trio (Five Star Western Series)

Tide of Empire is set on the eve of the Civil War, and tells the story of Matthew Jordan, who operates a timber operation in northern Wisconsin. He needs a sawmill and wins one in a poker game. But when he approaches Bank City to claim his mill, he finds that it's on fire! Bob Brule wins the sheriff's election in Red Rock by fourteen votes in "Fourteen Votes Brand a Maverick." He's proud of this singular accomplishment until attorney Arch Hayes tells him that the election was rigged. The title story, "Dead Man's Gold," takes place in the time after silver mines have gone bust and half the town of San Rico was burned to the ground. Based on a rumor that gold has been found in one of the old silver mines, Denver Forbes heads out to find his friend, Jim Short, and he does -- hanging from a tree outside the old San Rico mine.