With their families 7-year-old Hardy and 3-year-old Betty Sue are going west by wagon train in 1848. After they return to camp from retrieving a runaway stallion, they find they are the sole survivors of massacre. They are pursued by rustlers and a lone Indian warrior that want the stallion, plus bears and wolves that want the kids for lunch. They are also being tracked by Hardys father and his two buds. No wonder this novel won the major prize for western writers, the Spur Award, in 1969. It entertains with homespun ethics about duty and preparedness, economical characterization, a brisk pace, and plenty of action and suspense. A page-turner for readers 12 and up.

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