Summary

He was known as Johnny Montana. It was the name given to him by his fellow miners in the Redhawk mining district, and it had spread to nearby Ruby City, built on the south side of the gulch, half a mile down cañon from the dug-out at their claim. The claims have on the whole been rich ones and those working them, alone or in groups as in Johnny Montana's case, have been able to accumulate sizable caches of gold dust. The problem for all of these miners is how to get out of the district with their accumulation of gold. Brett Cutter and his gang of Cut-throats are ever vigilant and watch all the roads and byways for miners alone or in groups trying to leave. What happens is that vacating miners are attacked by the Cut-throats and usually left dead after having been stripped of their gold. The Cut-throats have grown so bold now that members of the gang even congregate in Ruby City, keeping a vigilant eye on anyone trying to sneak out. In some cases, the Cut-throats don't even wait for an exodus, but attack and kill miners at their diggings.It is in the center of this growing tension and the certainty that their claim will soon be attacked that Johnny Montana's mining partners agree that the best way to ward off an attack is for one of them to take out their gold on a pack horse. But the plan goes awry. No sooner has Johnny begun his desperate journey than behind him he hears the sounds of their camp being attacked by the Cut-throats. There will be pursuit, and he is only one against a horde of Cut-throats.Michael Zimmer grew up on a small Colorado horse ranch, and began to break and train horses for spending money while still in high school. Zimmer is the author of five Western novels, and his work has been praised by Library Journal and Booklist. Zimmer lives in Utah with his wife, Vanessa, and two dogs.