The Waiting Gun — Wayne D. Overholser

Bill Varney is just a hired hand on his father Mike Varney's Pitchfork Ranch, and his resentment at the way he has been treated has reached the breaking point. If Old Mike had ever cared about anybody, it's Bill's twin sister, Vida. She cares deeply about the old man, and is engaged to Turk Allen, the Pitchfork ramrod. As far as Bill is concerned, Turk Allen at best is a man of dubious character, only out for what he can get. When a gunman named Ace Kehoe shows up and declares that he intends to have a showdown with Old Mike Varney, Bill's plans to leave the Pitchfork forever are upset.