The Women of Bandit Bend — C.C. Harrison

Straitlaced Tally Tisdale and her free spirited sixteen year old sister arrive in Summit Creek to take over their missing father's rugged homestead on secluded Bandit Bend. Land Agent Foster Goodnight Pettyjohn warns them of unimaginable hardships: backbreaking work, deadly mountain storms, insect swarms, dangerous wild animals. He doesn't mention the vicious gangs of landgrabbers terrorizing homesteaders or the railroad developers and cattlemen eager to take possession of their father's claim which is pivotal to the success of both transcontinental travel and the cattle industry. But Carl Henry Tisdale taught both his daughters how to ride a horse, drive a wagon and shoot a gun, so Tally, strong willed and adventurous, welcomes the challenge. But not so Ivy. She's soon fed up with the heat, the dirt, the drudgery and the midnight raids. When bandit Birch Quinn returns to dig up stagecoach gold he'd secretly buried on their claim, Ivy sees him and the loot as her way out and hatches a plan not knowing Birch has a plan of his own. But just give women a challenge and see what happens.