Western Adams, Clifton: A Noose for the Desperado. V1. 24 Oct 2012

[crutledge]

Clifton Adams was born December 1, 1919 in Comanche, OK, and he passed away due to a heart attack on October 7, 1971 in San Francisco, CA. The author of nearly 50 books and over 125 short stories, it is truly a shame that he died so young at age 52. He was still in his prime as a writer, having just won two consecutive Spur Awards for Best Western Novel from the Western Writers of America, first in 1969 for Tragg's Choice and in 1970 for The Last Days of Wolf Garnett. He had also recently been named "Oklahoma Writer of the Year" in 1965 by the University of Oklahoma, his alma mater. In addition to his own name, he also published under the pseudonyms Clay Randall (the excellent Amos Flagg series of Westerns), Jonathan Gant, and Matt Kinkaid (sometimes spelled Kincaid).

Excerpt
He came forward slowly, in that curious toe-heel gait that Indians have. With a big left hand, he grabbed Marta by the hair and jerked her half out of the chair. I hit him in the face and pulled Marta behind me. "Keep your damn hands off her if you want to go on living," I said. He was surprised. The next thing I knew his gun was coming out of the holster. I made my grab and didn't bother to aim. I didn't hit him. I didn't even come close. But I didn't need that first bullet. Just the muzzle blast. And the Indian knew it. His mouth flew open as he slammed back under the impact, and before he could swing that pistol on me again, he was as good as dead.

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