On "Hombre" by Elmore Leonard *****

Another fine western by Mr. Leonard. This one, apparently, is the only novel that Leonard wrote in the first person, but he uses the voice effectively if unironically. It's a taut thriller from start to finish. The story involves a man who is actually called Tres Hombres at one point, because he manages to shoot as many as it would take three men to shoot. In typical western fashion, that is our book's superhero—a man raised by Indians who sympathizes with them and lives half on the edge of civilization.

Our narrator is a young man who has just lost his job with a wagon company, the railroads having taken most of the business. But there is a need for a wagon on his last day on the job, and one of those passengers needing a ride is a young gal who has been held captive by Indians for a month and is now free and wanting to get home. Other passengers include Russell, the aforementioned hero, and a rich man and his wife. It's the rich man who agrees to pay for the journey, so the young man's boss agrees to allow use of a wagon to carry them, to the young man's chagrin, as he wanted to drive (something he hadn't done before). But the good thing is that this gives opportunity for the young man to sit in the carriage with the young gal. Also along for the ride is a military man readying for marriage and a new job, but though he's bought a ticket, he's bucked out of his seat by a bully named Braden, who shows up at the last minute.

The rich man insists that they take a seldom-used shortcut since he's paying for the journey. But this off-road experience proves to be as harrowing as one might expect. And then, that's where things get really interesting. Spoilers follow.

The reason the main road was not a good option, it turns out, is that the rich man is transporting stolen goods, money he's stolen as a federal Indian agent, allowing the Indians for whom the money was designated to starve. The main road is more likely to be dangerous in terms of thieves (or, one might also assume, law enforcement). As such, it takes the thieves, who actually were aware of the rich man's bounty, extra time to catch up, word being sent to them by Braden, who it turns out is part of the party. Once they circle the wagon, they take the bag of money and the rich guy's wife (for insurance) and leave the party to die.

Except that things don't work out that way. Russell, as would be expected, comes to the rescue, recovering the money and leading the party out of the area. The wife, though, is still a hostage, and the thieves are keen on getting their loot. Alas, a man who steals from Indians is not to be trusted and certainly has no honor when it comes to either his wife or the others in his party. Is he worth saving, after he himself steals the money (again) and leaves the party for dead and then finds himself in trouble? Some people seem to think so; others not so much. When it's at the cost of lives, who gets grace and who does not? Tragedy unfolds.