Max Brand 
Rodeo Ranch 

Rodeo Ranch has earned its name from the rodeo that the wealthy, aged Ramon Alvarez sponsors there. An attempt has been made on Alvarez’s life, and Alvarez believes his would-be killer is a member of a secret league bent on his destruction. He approaches Duds Kobbe, winner of the rodeo’s shooting competition, and offers him a job as a personal bodyguard, promising a fabulous reward for doing the job. The only catch is that, while employed, Kobbe cannot leave the Alvarez estate. What Kobbe doesn’t realize is that he will be just as much a target as Alvarez. It is a short novel of murder and redemption, presents some intriguing plotting as a wealthy and fearful landowner hires a gunslinger as a bodyguard, with unexpected results.