He could ride with the best of them, but no one in the Ontawee Valley would hire a Metheny -- and Curt Metheny knew it even before he tried the last of the ranches, Hooper Forbes's vast Frying Pan outfit. Curt was boxed in by the hatred and vengeance of a town that didn't make much distinction between him and his father. Every day, it seemed that the box was getting smaller and smaller. Curt was about to explode.