Skeleton Lode — Ralph Compton

THE SUNDOWN RIDERS
They're ex-cowpunchers looking to strike it rich -- and not having much success. When they deliver a wagon of scotch to a shantytown saloon, the bartender drops dead before paying. No sooner do they take over the bar as payment than it burns to the ground. The cloud above Arlo Wells and Dallas Holt has no silver lining....

They finally get a break when they receive a message from an old friend, along with a map. It seems the grizzled prospector finally hit the mother lode in the Superstition Mountains, only to die shortly thereafter. His last wish was for the two boys to find his beloved nieces and share the claim with them. Easy money, except for a few minor problems...

Like the despicable stepfather who's got the nieces, a gang of hired gunmen, and the other half of the map. Not to mention the Apaches who'll slaughter anyone daring to tread the ground of their sacred mountains. For Arlo and Dallas, this lucky break may be the worst thing ever to happen to them....