Western Stories, Dell 153

This 1947 anthology, selected by Gene Autry, collects fifteen Western short stories emphasizing action and gunplay. Featured works include Frank Gruber's "The Marshal of Broken Lance," depicting Kansas frontier marshal John Tompkins maintaining order against rowdy Texas cattlemen in 1874, particularly against the gunslinger Dick Sellers; F.R. Buckley's "Gold-Mounted Guns" and Eugene Cunningham's "Cows in the Dark." The collection also includes J. Frank Dobie's "The Rider of Loma Escondida," a Hopalong Cassidy story by original creator Clarence Mulford, Ernest Haycox's "Sons of the Forest Edge," and works by Harry Sinclair Drago, Alan LeMay, and William Byron Mowery. Autry's introduction emphasizes action-driven narratives featuring gunfights, rodeo sequences, and suspense, with strong characterization and plotting alongside the thrills.