The Wolf Strain — Max Brand

In Bared Fangs, the first short novel in this Western trio, Ben Flinder's life is complicated by the arrival of a young woman who is in flight. She is befriended by a wolf, Gray Shadow, but not even he is able to prevent her capture. Gallows Gamble finds Jack Sherry and his partner, Bill Garvin, herding 'wet' cattle across the border in the hope of recovering from debt and starting over. Framed by means of stolen money, Sherry is incapacitated by a bullet in the back, while Garvin is sentenced to hang. The Wolf Strain continues the adventures of Bull Hunter with his partner, gunfighter Pete Reeve, the wolf dog known as The Ghost, and the black stallion, Diablo. Hunter's effort to return a locket to Mary Hood finds The Ghost estranged to Hunter and Pete Reeve now a sworn foe.