The Trail Breakers — Paul Lederer

To forge a new trail, a cowboy ventures into a frightening wilderness

Glen Wycherly's ranch holds two thousand cattle on ten thousand acres, and there is no one who knows the land better than Ray Hardin. But in all his years working for old man Wycherly and his ungrateful children, there is still one place that Ray has never been: an Apache stronghold just off Wycherly's property, where settlers fear to tread. Now the army claims that the area is secure, and Wycherly wants to use it to drive cattle through. It's up to Hardin to blaze a trail.
 
With his best friend at his side, Hardin rides into the unexplored territory, fearing Apache, bandits, and the dreadful twists of fate that threaten every traveler in the West. By the time this journey is done, either the trail will be broken or Hardin will be.