Hangtown — Paul Lederer

In a deserted western town, two drifters fight to stay alive

The place is called Hangtown, and it's as dead as a man with a noose cinched ‘round his neck. Josh Banks and Wage Carson rode here in search of work, but they found the settlement dried up and blown away -- the silver mine empty and the population gone with it. Josh wants to take what supplies they can and move on out into the desert, but Wage has a grander idea. The town has been abandoned, and that makes it theirs to own. He elects Josh mayor, appoints himself sheriff, and the town is alive again. Welcome to Hangtown -- population: 2.

When a troop of painted ladies rides into their empty town, Wage's plan starts to look pretty clever. But soldiers and gunmen follow close behind, and this two-man hamlet becomes the flashpoint for bloody conflict. Hangtown will be dead again soon, and if Wage and Josh don't move quickly, it will take them with it.