Do not forsake me oh my darling

For fans of the novels about the Old West, "The Untarnished Badge," provides a quick and easy read.

The plot seems like old stuff; there is a crooked council running the town and an honest rancher asks for help from the U.S. Marshal's office.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Luke Cochran is sent to help. He finds that the entire town council is crooked and of the two honest members of the group, one is dead and the other missing. He does meet a woman who is the daughter of the missing councilman. She runs a cafe and tells Luke about the despair of honest folk in the town.

The town sheriff is a crook and his deputy is a bully. They are corrupt and when the young woman whose father is missing asks for their help in locating their father, they brush her off.

The man who runs the stable gives Luke the lowdown and Luke makes quick work of the deputy, showing him up as a coward besides being a bully.

After Luke sends and receives a telegram from his boss in Denver, Luke understands what has to be done and when he tells the few honest men in the town, he gets the back-up he needs.

Not a great bit of suspense and little character development but for a quick trip back to the Old West, this provides an interesting escape.