D L Thomas

The Indigo Kid: Shoot-out at the Bar-T Ranch D L Thomas

Nineteen year old Henry Billups vows revenge on the three outlaws who murdered his parents. Virgil Petry, an ex-bounty hunter, teaches Henry to shoot. Henry and Virgil hit the trail in pursuit of the three outlaws. Through a set of bizarre incidents, some involving Bart Mason, owner of the Bar-T Ranch, Henry becomes known as The Indigo Kid, a feared gunfighter. After returning to Indigo, the frontier town he lives in, he meets and falls in love with Julie Mays, the niece of the Sheriff, Burton Carr. His love for Julie infuriates Missy Baxter, the daughter of Sherman Baxter, owner of the Bank of Indigo. Missy considers herself Henry's fiance. Henry asks Julie to marry him. She enthusiastically says 'yes'. This story, Shoot-out at the Bar-T Ranch, begins on their wedding day. Henry wants to go to the mining town of Junction Flats, 5 days west, for their honeymoon trip. Virgil is living there with Abby Bond, owner of the boarding house where they stayed when searching for the outlaws. Abby is the widow of Wiley Bond, who was the Sheriff of Junction Flats. Wiley was gunned down in an ambush. Henry has another encounter with Bart Mason as they go to Junction Flats. The third night into their trip they have a flash flood and Julie is swept away in it. She is pulled from the river by a young man, Eli Peters. She becomes seriously ill with cholera as a result of the flood. Upon returning to Indigo, Henry sees a large building, with a sign saying 'Indigo Merchandise Emporium' being built. Sherman Baxter is having it built. Henry sees Eli Peters coming out of the Indigo Hotel. They renew their acquaintance and Eli tells Henry he has been working for Sherman Baxter. Baxter is trying to restart the effort to build a railroad serving Indigo. Eli says Baxter is looking for investors for the railroad. Henry declines. Shortly after, Henry sees Bart Mason ride into Indigo and go into the Bank of Indigo. Baxter has found his investor. Now, the two men who hate Henry are partners. The