Paradise Loses — George G. Gilman

BURNING

The town called Paradise was hell on earth for outsiders. Off the beaten track, its very isolation let Paradise create its own code of law, and it was vicious, ruthless, and merciless. Edge had already been in a town called Hate, where they hanged a man for spitting in the street, so how bad could Paradise really be?

But Edge, untamed and uncivilized, had no way of knowing just how severe and uncompromising the Puritan ethic was. He had never seen the stocks, a whipping post, or a pillory, much less a stake stacked with brush wood ready for burning. And when a man named Arch Angel Luke sat in judgment of Edge, he knew he was in deep trouble.

Only Edge could turn a perilous predicament to his advantage. Fearlessly he confronted his fate, ever watchful for the split second that would once again give him the...EDGE