Review: Gun Law at Vermillion - Matt Stuart (L.P. Holmes)

Matt Stuart was a pseudonym for L.P. Holmes, one of my favorite Western authors. In fact, GUN LAW AT VERMILLION, published in hardcover by J.B. Lippincott in 1951 and reprinted in paperback by Bantam in 1952, was serialized in the pulp RANCH ROMANCES under Holmes’ real name and the title “Painted Walls” in November and December 1947. I read the Bantam paperback, which has a decent cover by Earl Mayan, although the main figure in this painting looks nothing like the protagonist of the book.

Holmes often used simple, traditional plots. In GUN LAW AT VERMILLION, former Texas Ranger Clay Orde has come to Nevada on the trail of the man he holds responsible for the deaths of his foster parents. Before he can reach his destination, though, the train he’s riding is held up. The robbers are after something unusual, though: They’re out to steal a string of pack mules bound for the town of Vermillion, where they’ll be used by a freight packing company owned by a beautiful young woman who also just happens to be on the same train as Orde.

Orde saves the girl and foils the robbery, of course, and just like that he finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a war between rival freight packing companies. And the one that’s trying to run the girl out of business is owned by, you guessed it, the same guy that Orde has been tracking down! (No bonus points for guessing that. It’s pretty obvious.)

That’s it for the plot. The rest of the book consists of Orde helping the girl and falling in love with her, battling against the schemes of the man he hates, making friends with a Ute Indian called Johnny Buffalo who is a great sidekick, and surviving various ambushes, beatings, and shootouts. And I’m sure you can guess how I reacted to it.

I loved it, of course, and had a great time reading it. Holmes was one of the very best at spinning this kind of yarn. Clay Orde isn’t the most likable protagonist at times, but he has to be pretty tough in order to survive all the punishment that Holmes puts him through.

In addition to the hardcover and paperback editions from the early Fifties, GUN LAW AT VERMILLION was reprinted in paperback by Lancer under Holmes’ name. I haven’t been able to find a date for that edition, but I suspect it was late Sixties/early Seventies. A large print edition came out in the Nineties. So there are copies around, and you might come across one of them. If you’re a fan of traditional Westerns, I think there’s a very good chance you’ll enjoy it. I certainly did.