Nine Lives — Max Brand

For 22 years Silas Durfee was a Texas Ranger. Finally he quit, wanting instead to try his hand at ranching. Thomas Bunce proposes to hire Durfee as mentor and protector for his nephew, Henry Vincent, to teach him how to hunt and fish, but to prevent him from riding rough horses, using a handgun and keeping away from anything dangerous. Durfee must also protect Vincent from the outlaw, Spot Lester. Durfee knows all about Spot Lester. Several times he went up against him and each time was bested. In the end the temptation of acquiring a ranch and money to stock it overpowers Durfee's reservations, but he soon realises it was a poor choice when he learns there is nothing dull about young Vincent, who can kill a mountain lion with only a knife.