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| Cover of the High Graders by Louis L'Amour - 1963 Bantam edition |
MIKE SHEVLIN the HIGH GRADERS' lead character, returns to the town of Rafter Crossing after a 13 year absence to investigate the shooting death of Eli Patterson, an old man who once befriended him. He also finds himself investigating the beating death of the rancher Jack Moorman who he had also befriended. Having arrived, he lands in the midst of a town war. As one would expect, both murders and the town hostilities are related.
During his long absence, the at one time cowtown, has become a gold mining town with more trouble than it can handle. And the once powerful cattle ranchers are now battling with the miners over what ranchers and miners have always fought over; the land and pollution of the water supply. The real conflict, however, is the feud between two factions who have been involved in high grading the gold from the biggest mine.
Two years previously, Ray Hollister, a small rancher with big ambitions, partnered with a shyster lawyer to bring in a mining superintendent named Ben Stowe to do the high grading. But Ben Stowe does a double cross and maneuvers Hollister and his lawyer out of the swindle. Now Hollister is using the other ranchers to get revenge on Stowe and steal the stolen gold. So while the ranchers think it's Ranchers vs Miners, it's really High Grader vs High Grader.
In addition, although the owner of the mine is keeping her identify secret, one of the crooked factions is trying to press her to sell the "unprofitable" mine so, as they tell it, the land can be returned to ranch-land.
In the meantime, the owner of the mine, Laine Tennison, grows suspicious of the ever-increasing pressure to sell and suspects that the mine is really worth more than the superintendent is revealing. While keeping her ownership secret, she comes from San Francisco on the pretense of visiting a relative in order to get a closer look at the situation in Rafter Crossing. She is convinced that her mine is being bled dry by high graders. And is certain that the gold has not been removed from the town yet. Furthermore, she believes that whoever is stealing it has it hidden somewhere right there in town!
Naturally, it is Mike Shevlin she wants to hire to find out who is behind it and how they're doing it. And when he gets involved, all hell breaks loose. Things get too hot and Stowe is forced to move the gold out fast, but he's got to get it past all those looking for it: the owner; Shevlin; Hollister and the ranchers. He finds a surprising ally to move the gold. An ally that is fully aware that he can't trust Stowe to not put him six feet under once the gold is safely delivered to its destination.
The love interest for our hero is Laine Tennison. Although Shevlin has a bad reputation, obtained from his youth, she has a high regard for him because her uncle was the very Eli Patterson whose death Shevlin came back to investigate. And it was Patterson who, while in her presence, once recommended Shevlin to Tennison's grandfather.
This is a great read; a real page turner. It's action-packed from start to finish. There's tons of gunplay, several murders, a bushwhacking, fistfights, a kidnapping, all kinds of double crossing and an assassin for hire. And as they say, there is no honor among thieves...or trust. There's hardly anyone without a secret. And everyone mistrusts everyone else. In addition to the mystery of who killed Eli Patterson & Jack Moorman, are the mysteries about who's double crossing who and how. Even Laine, at one point, wonders if Shevlin hasn't changed sides on her.
This is my second read of this book and I'll probably read it again.
"Somebody had been shrewd enough to let a whole community get its fingers sticky. By simply looking the other way while the minors high-graded a little gold, the men who operated the mines had made the townspeople accomplices to their own theft."
In addition, although the owner of the mine is keeping her identify secret, one of the crooked factions is trying to press her to sell the "unprofitable" mine so, as they tell it, the land can be returned to ranch-land.
In the meantime, the owner of the mine, Laine Tennison, grows suspicious of the ever-increasing pressure to sell and suspects that the mine is really worth more than the superintendent is revealing. While keeping her ownership secret, she comes from San Francisco on the pretense of visiting a relative in order to get a closer look at the situation in Rafter Crossing. She is convinced that her mine is being bled dry by high graders. And is certain that the gold has not been removed from the town yet. Furthermore, she believes that whoever is stealing it has it hidden somewhere right there in town!
Naturally, it is Mike Shevlin she wants to hire to find out who is behind it and how they're doing it. And when he gets involved, all hell breaks loose. Things get too hot and Stowe is forced to move the gold out fast, but he's got to get it past all those looking for it: the owner; Shevlin; Hollister and the ranchers. He finds a surprising ally to move the gold. An ally that is fully aware that he can't trust Stowe to not put him six feet under once the gold is safely delivered to its destination.
"He knew their kind, for in a sense he was one of them. The difference was that he had chosen to ride on the side of the law--and when you came down to it that was quite a difference. He had deeply ingrained within him a respect for the law, and the need for it. He knew that otherwise life would be a jungle, And he knew too, that many of those who made out to despise the law the most, found themselves wishing for its protection."
The love interest for our hero is Laine Tennison. Although Shevlin has a bad reputation, obtained from his youth, she has a high regard for him because her uncle was the very Eli Patterson whose death Shevlin came back to investigate. And it was Patterson who, while in her presence, once recommended Shevlin to Tennison's grandfather.
This is a great read; a real page turner. It's action-packed from start to finish. There's tons of gunplay, several murders, a bushwhacking, fistfights, a kidnapping, all kinds of double crossing and an assassin for hire. And as they say, there is no honor among thieves...or trust. There's hardly anyone without a secret. And everyone mistrusts everyone else. In addition to the mystery of who killed Eli Patterson & Jack Moorman, are the mysteries about who's double crossing who and how. Even Laine, at one point, wonders if Shevlin hasn't changed sides on her.
This is my second read of this book and I'll probably read it again.
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| Back cover of The High Graders by Louis L'Amour. An accurate portrayal of the story. |
FAVORITE LINE:
"Ma'am, I'm Mike Shevlin, and all hell's about to break loose."
OTHER FAVORITES:
"...you smell of trouble, and trouble is my business."
"I take notions"
"When a horse starts swishin' his tail there's no telling what burrs he'll pick up."
"By noon tomorrow I'm cutting my wolf loose, and if you're not with me you'd better hunt a hole."
"Ma'am, you never get far talking things over with a man holding a gun. And this here man wasn't much given to talk."
Cigarettes lit up 1
Cigars lit up 13
Pipes lit up 3
Gunplay 5
Fistfights 3
Murder 3
Bushwhackings 1
Kidnapping 1
UPDATED: Formatting corrected
