Gunman from Rawhide — Todhunter Ballard

Ray Donovan in Gunman from Rawhide isn't really a Donovan. He was adopted as a child by Pete Donovan, a prospector, and only when Pete died was he sent to the great Box D Ranch to be raised by Aunt Kate Donovan, a masterful woman who inherited the ranch. Ray ran away from home as soon as he could and earned himself a considerable reputation as a trouble-shooter on railroad construction crews. In response to a letter from his cousin Marty Donovan about Bert Donovan who has followed belatedly in Ray's path and run away from the Box D, Ray finds Bert in a Denver saloon and accompanies him back to the Box D. Once there he finds Aunt Kate involved in a bitter dispute with what strikes him as a fraudulent railroad construction projected headed up by Wilbur Keats, a gambler and land agent in Dondaro. Aunt Kate thinks Ray is a front man for the railroad, while Keats is convinced that Ray had returned to stop surveying of a right of way across the Box D. Ray intends to get out before becoming more embroiled, but an attempt on his life changes his mind.