Cross Knife Ranch

The black feather, sign of the King Buzzard's gang, waved over the corpses of punchers and dead mossyhorns alike on the grounds of the Cross Knife and through the Spanish Sinks. When the King Buzzard left a black feather, it was a warning -- flee or become the Buzzard's next victim as his gang rustled cattle, killed ranchers, and burned homesteads. Cal Banning, high-tailing it into the country with a description of himself on a sheriff's wanted notice in his pocket, was hailed by Al Stenger, leader of the Double S outfit, as a kindred spirit and invited to join up. He did -- but with the intention of unmasking the mysterious King Buzzard, who depredations were terrorizing the valley, and of laying low the jinx of the black feather forever.