Ten Mile Valley — Wayne D. Overholser

Mark Kelton is eighteen years old, part boy, part man. On the trail to set up a ranch in eastern Oregon, his parents are killed and the strongbox containing $8,000 stolen. Mark heads out onto the empty plain, where he encounters Bronco Curtis, a man who knows what he wants. He befriends the youthful orphan. When Curtis was Mark's age, an older man had done the same for him. Under Curtis's tutelage, Mark becomes a hardened rider, an experienced cowboy, and capable in the use of firearms. In Ten Mile Valley Curtis purchases a small cattle ranch, and despite the fact that Mark has no money, Curtis reaffirms that they are partners. But always at the back of Mark's mind is the knowledge that somewhere on the plains the murderer of his parents still rides free. Mark is convinced that he cannot really become a man until he finds that murdering thief.