Ethan Craig picked the wrong day to start working for Sam Pringle's outfit.

Within hours of joining up, Ansel Stark's bandit gang bushwhacked the outfit at Bluff Point and Ethan saw all his new colleagues gunned down in cold blood.

Ethan vowed to get his revenge, but before he could get his manhunt underway his bad luck continued when for the second time he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Sheriff Henry Fisher arrested him. His presumed crime was being a member of the very gang he'd sworn to track down!

With nobody believing his innocence and a ruthless bandit to catch, can Ethan ever hope to succeed?

'You looking for work, cowboy?'

Ethan Craig leaned forward in the saddle, nodding as he considered the approaching rider.

'Sure am,' he said. 'You reckon there's any on offer?'

'Don't know. I'm doing the same as you are--looking for work.'

Ethan exchanged names with his fellow would-be cow-puncher, discovering he was Jeff Tyler. Around them the milling herd of longhorns rumbled back and forth, the distant cries of the drovers urging them on so they could complete their mission. Twenty yards ahead was the chuck wagon where the owner of the outfit Sam Pringle was completing the handing over of his latest charges to a local rancher. Ethan had already caught Sam's eye and they'd traded smiles. Now he was waiting for the chance to persuade his old friend to take him on.

While he waited, he chatted with Jeff, learning that he had come from the nearby town of Bitter Creek where he'd become tired of working as a teller at the bank and had decided to try cow-punching instead.

'Bank teller,' Ethan mused, 'now that sure sounds one hell of a lot less exhausting than this life. Maybe I'll give that a try if there's nothing available here.'

'It didn't interest me,' Jeff said amiably while peering around, 'but then again the grass is always greener elsewhere. You got any idea who we need to impress?'

'Sam Pringle, and he's a good man and a good friend.' Ethan noted the flash of disappointment that clouded Jeff's eyes. 'But don't worry. I'll put in a good word for you.'

Presently Sam concluded his business and made his way over to Ethan, a huge smile breaking out.

'Ethan Craig,' he declared, 'I ain't seen you for a while. You looking for work?'

'Sure,' Ethan said. 'I heard you might be a few men short for your next drive.'

'Then you heard right. Two men left a month ago and I've been struggling. I'm heading over Prudence way to start up again in a few days, so if you two are minded to join up...'

Ethan had been down to his last few dollars but he reckoned his fortunes were about to change and he whooped with delight while Jeff provided a more subdued grunt of pleasure. So with a quick shake of hands the two men joined Sam Pringle's outfit. By now the ranch hands had taken official possession of the cattle and so Sam led them over to meet their new colleagues, who were all in high spirits. Everyone was ready to head off to spend their money on several nights of well-earned entertainment. Their only problem was where they'd go.

'I ain't heading to Bitter Creek,' Rory Scott, a red-headed and seemingly permanently smiling man, said. 'I wasted a night there with Isaac a few days ago and I can tell you, it sure was the deadest place I've ever set foot in.'

Jeff shuffled from foot to foot and muttered something under his breath. Only Ethan noted his discomfort.

'I reckon,' Miles Osborn said, slapping a thigh with a mischievous grin spreading across his face, 'when we ride into town we'll sure liven 'em up.'

'I don't know,' Rory persisted as several men hooted their support. 'Like I said, I've been to livelier funerals than that night in Bitter Creek.'

The men cast uncertain glances at each other as they waited for one of them to make the decision as to where they would go. Jeff spoke up first.

'Speaking as someone who's lived all his life in Bitter Creek,' he said. He paused to look at Rory, letting him suffer a moment of embarrassment after his previous comments. 'I have to disagree with you. Bitter Creek sure is a mighty fine town.'

'No offence meant,' Rory murmured, looking shame-faced.

'None taken. It may be mighty fine... but it sure is as dead a place as I've ever seen.' Jeff smiled while everyone grunted a laugh. 'But luckily I know somewhere livelier--Fall Creek. It's further away and it's not so grand, but the liquor's cheaper, the women are prettier, and the town's a whole lot rowdier all round.'

'Yee-haw!' Rory shouted, Jeff's declaration effectively deciding the matter without further debate.

'I reckon you're just the man our outfit's been looking for,' Miles said, slapping Jeff on the back as they headed to their horses.

Jeff took the lead in directing everyone off on what he said would be a two-hour journey. Ethan took the opportunity to ride alongside Sam Pringle and they exchanged tales of what they'd done since they'd last seen each other. They chatted amiably while around them the other men bristled with excitement about the forthcoming chance to unwind.

After riding along for an hour that excitement was growing, but Ethan noted that after his initial animated enthusiasm in directing them towards Fall Creek, Jeff remained quiet. He also noted something about his behaviour that sent a tremor of concern rippling through his guts.

He didn't want to alarm the others and so he hurried his horse on to ride alongside him. They were now riding across the plains with an enormous bluff a quarter-mile to their side rising upwards like a giant, angry pimple, gleaming red under the rays of the lowering sun.

'What's wrong?' Ethan asked, keeping his voice light and untroubled.

'About what?' Jeff replied quickly.

'You keep on looking around, and mainly at that bluff.'

'It's called Bluff Point and it's probably nothing.' Jeff shrugged. 'But I reckon I saw something flash over there a few minutes ago.'

Ethan glanced to the side at the bluff without moving his head.

'Flash as in somebody signalling?'

'That's what I thought. I first saw movement a few miles back, as if someone was following us. Now I reckon that person's holed up on the bluff.'

Ethan considered Jeff for a moment. 'I ain't the kind of man to judge another man. I'm sure you've got your reasons for wanting to leave town. You can tell me what those reasons are, or you can choose not to. It doesn't matter to me. But if you reckon somebody has a problem with you, now might be the right time to tell me about it.'

Jeff shook his head, his light smile putting Ethan's mind at rest.

'Nobody is after me.' He nodded back, signifying their trailing companions. 'But the same can't be said about the others. Eight men all just been paid might interest the kind of people who've been around recently.'

'Any people in particular?'

'The bandit Ansel Stark has got a lot of people worried.'

'Never heard of him, but no matter, we should slow down and talk to Sam.'

Jeff sighed. 'Do you get the feeling we picked the wrong day to join this outfit?'

Ethan snorted a low laugh, but then shook his head.

'I prefer to think we picked the right day. Maybe we can make a difference.'

Jeff supported Ethan's positive thinking with a grunt. Neither man did anything untoward to draw attention to themselves and Ethan ensured he rode alongside Sam Pringle to pass on the information.

'Rory, Isaac,' Sam said after considering Ethan's news, 'you headed into Bitter Creek recently. Did you get yourself into any kind of trouble?'

'No!' both men blustered with apparent indignation although their darting eyes suggested they'd overstated their conviction. Several men uttered snorts of laughter, suggesting there probably had been an incident, but one they hadn't mentioned to the outfit leader.

Sam sighed, considering them. 'Could well be that somebody like this Ansel Stark is spoiling for a fight, but nobody is taking our money off us, no matter what...' Sam trailed off then looked at Ethan. 'Did you see that?'

'Sure,' Ethan said. The flash of light had been unmistakable, coming from high up on the bluff.

Open plains were to their left, suggesting that avoiding the bluff would be their safest option, but Sam still asked for opinions. Most agreed with this plan, but after some thought Sam provided his decision, uttering his words using the kind of quiet authority that Ethan remembered and which always ended a discussion immediately.

'I reckon if someone is up on the bluff signalling, then he's signalling to someone out there, and they're the people we need to avoid. We should head to the bluff and find somewhere to make a stand.'

Everybody glanced at each other, nodding. Only Jeff responded.

'We're about ten miles out of Fall Creek,' he said, 'but I know of a pass that takes you through Bluff Point. It's winding and treacherous so not many people use it, but it'll cut miles off the journey, and might mean we don't have to make that stand.'

After that pronouncement everyone looked at Sam. This time he didn't reply for a full minute, his jaw rocking from side to side as he considered the options.

'All right,' he said at last. 'Everyone bunch up then on Jeff's call hightail it to the bluff like the Devil himself is on your tail and don't look back for nothing.'

Grim grunts sounded from the men. Then they rode on quietly, waiting for the call. Jeff played his part well by gradually pulling away from the group and veering slightly towards the bluff. Ethan kept his gaze on what appeared to be a solid wall of rock, but clearly Jeff knew what he was looking for because he suddenly raised a hand then yanked his horse to the side and surged away.

Everyone hurried after him and in a straggling line they galloped for the bluff. Ethan fell in towards the back to ride beside Sam and despite his orders, Sam did glance back over his shoulder. Ethan caught his momentary flaring of the eyes and this encouraged him to also look back.

300 yards behind them six men were in pursuit, having appeared seemingly from nowhere. When he turned back, for the first time he saw the gap Jeff was taking them through, opening up between two towering blocks of stone.

Jeff slowed as he surged into the gap, but as soon as emerged into the rising, boulder-strewn and winding pass, he tugged back on the reins, making his horse rear as he struggled for control.

'Trap!' he yelled as several gunshots rang out. 'It's a trap!'

The group bunched, their horses spooked and bustling into each other as they struggled to identify where the shooting was coming from. A volley of gunshots thundered around them, some whistling over their heads, others kicking up pebbles from the hard ground. Ethan saw a man to his right clutch his shoulder before the force of the blast tipped him from his mount.

Behind them the pursuing men were closing, trapping them between the two groups.

'Get to cover!' Sam shouted.

Nobody needed any further encouragement to leap down from their mounts and run to the sides of the pass, seeking out the best cover available. But now their attackers had them in their sights.

Miles got a bullet in the back. He ran on for a few paces before he dropped to his knees then bit the dirt. Isaac went spinning round to land on his back as lead tore into his side. A second shot ripped into his prone form and ensured he would never get up again.

Ethan gained the cover of a pile of boulders first and knelt, then shouted encouragement to the rest to follow him to relative safety. He slapped Jeff, then Rory, then Sam on the shoulders as they passed him. Nobody else followed them.

'Is this all we're getting?' he shouted, venturing a glance beyond his cover. He got his answer when he saw the bodies. Everyone else had perished in the initial onslaught.

'Five years to get together the best damn outfit in the state,' Sam said, anger darkening his face, 'and these varmints wipe them out for a few dollars.'

'Save your anger for later,' Ethan said. 'We have to find a way to fight back before we join 'em.'

As Sam glanced out into the pass then darted back when a bullet scythed over his head, Jeff shuffled round to sit with his back to the pass. He looked up to higher ground, his eyes glazed and staring, perhaps with shock or perhaps as he took stock of the lie of the land. Behind them Rory bobbed up to trade gunfire with their attackers but immediately a sustained burst of gunfire whistled around him and he dropped back down.

'Reckon as we need to spread out,' Rory said.

'You're right,' Sam said. He pointed at Jeff and Ethan. 'You two head up there and see what you can do.'

Ethan slapped Sam's shoulder as he left and with the shocked Jeff trailing behind him they scurried from covering boulder to covering boulder, gaining some height. When Ethan paused for breath and looked down, what he saw sent a shiver down his spine.

A dozen men were scurrying around at the bottom of the pass. They were aiming to launch an assault on Rory and Sam, and if these were just the men they could see, Ethan didn't like to think how outnumbered they were.

'That sure is a lot of men to take on one small outfit,' Jeff murmured unhappily.

'Yeah,' Ethan said, 'against that many Sam and Rory don't stand a chance no matter what we do. We have to get them up here.'

Jeff nodded and grabbed a handful of pebbles to throw down and attract Sam's attention, but already he was too late. The attackers swarmed across the pass in a wave of gun-toting mayhem.

Two men must have already sneaked up on the outfit's position because they suddenly appeared on either side of Sam and Rory. Sam was quick enough to take one of the men out, but not to get the other and Ethan's guts churned as he saw his old friend get a bullet in the stomach that kicked him backwards into a boulder.

Rory fared just as badly getting cut down by the same man. Ethan aimed then loosed off a round of lead, but from over 100 yards away he failed to hit anyone. Worse, a solid block of men surged over the boulders and fired off round after round into the two wounded men, ensuring they'd never fight back.

With all the attackers having grouped so close together Ethan reckoned he couldn't fail to hit some of them. He aimed at the centre of the group, but before he could fire, Jeff slammed a hand on his arm and dragged him down to the ground.

'What you doing?' Ethan grunted.

'Saving your life,' Jeff said, his wide and dead eyes displaying a mixture of fright and hopelessness.

'I can see you're right worried, but we ain't getting out of this alive unless we start fighting.'

'Facing that many men I don't reckon we've got any chance, other than one... perhaps they won't realize we're up here.'

'That's a slim hope!' Ethan blustered.

'It's the only one we've got,' Jeff said, his voice growing in strength and displaying increasing conviction. 'Think. If the raiders planned this then they would have watched the outfit. They wouldn't be expecting there to be ten men here. Unless they had eagle eyes and were paying real close attention, they might not even realize we'd joined them.'

'But they must have seen us come...' Ethan trailed off, sighing as Jeff provided a forlorn smile that acknowledged it was a long-shot, and so reluctantly Ethan had to admit he was right.

Keeping their heads down and hiding was the only chance they had of avoiding becoming the final victims of this massacre at Bluff Point.

Then one day I had a thought about a scene in which a man is suspended in a cage hundreds of feet off the ground. He's being shot at by lots of blokes and as he's unarmed he can do nothing to defend himself. That sounded like a great cliffhanger situation, but perhaps not that great yet, so I added in the fraying rope that was holding the cage up and which was just about to send the cage plummeting to the ground. Then just to make it a really perilious situation I put another man in the cage who is trying to kill the hero and is busy breaking the fragile cage bars...

Having come up with a such a situation I then just had to find a story that would get my hero in that position, and as it turned out holed-up outlaws was one way to do it.