Painting the Town Red (Dead Broke, Colorado)

By: William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone

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Synopsis: Welcome back to Dead Broke, Colorado. Where the latest discovery—a giant boulder of zinc—sparks an all-out frenzy of greed and gunfire that rocks the Rockies to their core. . . . Ever since the silver market crashed, the mining town of Dead Broke has been awfully quiet. The local marshal—legendary gunman Duncan &“Mick&” MacMicking—doesn&’t have much to do besides outshoot the occasional greenhorn looking to challenge him. But all this peace and quiet is about to end. After getting trapped in a cave-in, Mayor Nugget unearths a mineral to rival his famous &“Hope Diamond of Silver.&” He calls it the &“Liberty Bell of Zinc,&” a massive boulder of pure zinc carbonate. But when word of his discovery gets out, the quiet little boomtown of Dead Broke goes boom—again—with a vengeance. . . . First, a scheming banker shows up to cash in on Nugget&’s prize. Then, an outlaw gang arrives to rob the bank and steal the Liberty Bell. After a blood-soaked shootout, Marshal Duncan decides he&’d better get that big rock out of town before more people die. Fortunately, the mayor has received an invitation to display his zinc boulder at Buffalo Bill&’s Wild West Show in Chicago. There&’s just one problem: getting it there without getting killed. Thanks to all the publicity, every greedy sidewinder in the West knows which train they&’re taking. And once the shooting starts, this train will be dead on arrival. . . .