Night Hawk: A Western Story [Large Print]

Night Hawk begins as a scrawny kid is thrown off a Union Pacific train in the town of Coalton, Colorado, circa 1894. Destitute and hungry, the boy inevitably comes to the attention of Sherriff Wade Rogers, who convinces Circle L Ranch ramrod Tyler Johnson to take the sullen, aggressive young man on as a ranch hand. Thus, the boy, who refuses to provide his real name, reluctantly becomes a Circle L employee. Because of his contrary nature, the boy, who the other ranch hands teasingly dub "night hawk", often rubs his co-workers the wrong way. His surly attitude causes a lot of tension at the ranch, eventually leading to a fist fight with one of colleagues, Smitty. Ironically, the two become close after Smitty knocks the tar out of his gangly and inept opponent. Although the night hawk makes a connection with Smitty, Ty Johnson finds himself bailing the boy out of difficulty again and again. Finally, the boy ends up in a bind that Ty might not be able to extricate him from, a situaution that may result in the boy losing his life. Relying on his wits and a little bit of luck, Ty does his best to help the uappreciative ranch hand, who seems to be a veritable trouble magnet. Night Hawk is a compact and entertaining little novel. Overholser is a natural storyteller with a gift for creating memorable characters. In addition, he expertly evokes the old west, effortlessly transporting readers to another time and locale. Overholser's west is a land of great beauty and opportunity, but it's also a land of great danger and peril, a place where a simple mistake can cost you your life. As such, it provides a perfect backdrop to this well-told western bildungsroman.