Someone was killing Flying U steers, killing them wantonly and then stripping out the hindquarters and leaving the rest for the wolves. When Chip Bennett and Weary Davidson first discovered it, they thought someone was stealing beef. Then Chip found that the hindquarters were being dumped into ravines and left to rot. Obviously, the thief was deliberately insulting the Flying U, trying to stir up trouble, trying to pick a fight.
Hot-headed young Chip Bennett jumped to the conclusion that Butch Lewis and his gang were responsible. He thought that Butch was down on him and was taking out the peeve on J.G. and the Flying U ranch which that square old cattle puncher owned. So Chip quit his job and decided to catch the killer himself.
And that started him into as fast-moving a mess of trouble as the young wildcat had ever seen. For it soon developed that there were bigger plans afoot than the theft of a few quarters of beef – plans that flamed into a range war – plans that involved Polly Taylor of the Hobble-O – plans that led to pitched battle in which Chip took long chances on his own and longer ones trying to keep Polly out of trouble before peace returned to the range.
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