Cripple's Golden Pioneers — R. William Rogers

With small amounts of gold now having begun showing up around Fremont, it was just a matter of time before the unsavory types began showing up as well. What with the town being without a lawmen of its own, Pastor Chad Blackman agrees to fill the empty slot until a permanent sheriff can be brought in. After a killing upsets the usually peaceful applecart around town, Chad takes the two culprits into custody to wait for the District Marshal to make his rounds.

Without a bonafide jail to hold them in, they are hog-tied and tossed into the storeroom at the rear of the feed store. But they manage to escape while killing the feed store owner in the process. During the escape, Chad seriously wounds one of the fleeing killers.

The duo of undesirables had been in town awaiting the arrival of two of their pards who had just recently busted out of Territorial Prison down in Cañon City. After the wounded murderer dies from his wound, and with his remains having been devoured by the thousand-pound grizzly, Old Mose, the sworn revenge against the gun-totin' preacher is one that quickly escalates to a feverish pitch after the kidnapping of Chad's beloved wife, Jennifer.

With Chad himself having been critically wounded during the taking of his wife, and with her now being used as bait to draw him out, he does his best to undertake a painstaking rescue despite the severity of his injuries.

But Old Mose is still out there somewhere, and what with him having recently tasted blood, he's by far the biggest worry for everyone concerned.