Apache Rising by Marvin H. Albert (first published in 1957; reprinted as a m0vie tie-in titled Duel at Diablo, 1965; reprinted this month in paperback and e-book as Apache Rising under Stark House Press's Whipcrack Western line)
For those interested in a fast-moving western with a tight plot and well-drawn characters, it's hard to beat the eleven paperback originals published by Mavin H. albert under his own name and as "Al Conroy" between 1956 and 1965. Apache Rising, the second of these, is a tough and realistic example of how good albert was at his craft.
Jess Remsberg is a frontier scout on a mission -- finding and killing the man who murdered, raped, and scalped Jess's beloved Comanche wife, Singing Sky. Jess has searched for years but has not found any clue to who had killed his wife, until his friend Lieutenant Gil McAllister, came across Signing Sky's scalp displayed at a sutler's in Fort Duell; the scalp had a silver streak along the black hair, and a tiny silver bell attached to it -- there could be no doubt that it belonged to Jess's wife.
On his way to meet McAllister, Jess had rescued across a lone woman in the desert being stalked by two Apaches. The woman was Ellen Graff, the wife of a local freighter who had been kidnapped by the Apaches several years ago. She had been taken as a wife by the son of the powerful chief Chata and had born a son by him. When the army raided Chata's camp, Ellen was knocked un conscious and -- recognized as a white woman by the soldiers because of her red hair -- was brought back to her husband who had given her up for dead and had moved on with his life, hoping to marry another woman. Ellen's child had been unknowingly left at the Indian camp. Graff resented Ellen for not killing herself while in captivity and for giving birth to an Apache baby; the mere presence of Ellen back in his home has severely damaged Millard Graff's personal and business reputation. For her part, all Ellen wants to do is find her child. She had run away and was crossing the desert to that when Jess rescued her.
The raid on Chata's camp had all but destroyed Chata's band of warriors. With a few survivors, Chata made it to the Mexican hills to regroup as renegade Indians slowly made their way from reservation=s to join him. It is now suspected that he has gained enough warriors to regain his war against the hated white men. If Chata makes it across the order and past the army stationed at Fort Duell to the Mogollon Rim, he will have an impenetrable stronghold from which to wreak terror along Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. McAllister is in Fort Creel next to the town of Avalanche to receive a shipment of four wagons full of ammunitions due at distant Fort Duell. McAllister will have twenty-five soldiers with him to protect the shipment, but he is concerned that Chata might emerge from Mexico if he learns of the shipment of ammunition. McAllister asks Jess to scout for him. Jess, anxious to reach Fort Duell himself to question the sutler who had his wife's scalp, agrees. Joining McAllister's group is Graff, who is bringing a wagon of goods to sell at the fort, and a gun-toting gambler named Toller, looking to relieve some long-isolated soldiers of their cash.
As the expedition heads out, Jess learns that Ellen has stolen two horses and has headed back into the desert in search of her son, and that Graff could care less.
Scouting ahead of the main party, Jess discovers Chata has crossed the border and is nearby with a force twice the size of McAllister's. He also discovers that Ellen has been captured by Chata's men. Chata's son -- the one who took Ellen as a wife -- is dead and Chata is determined to keep Ellen alive until he reaches hos son's grave, where he will bury Ellen alive with him. Jess also comes across the remain of a party of settlers -- men, women, and children -- who have been butchered by Chata's men.
Rather than turn back until he can get reinforcements, McAllister decides to attack Chala and stop him before any other settlers get hurt. (And, if McAllister is able to stop Chata, it would not hurt his chances for promotion.) But Chata is a skilled and wily battle leader, and the desert is a remorseless place for white men, but the Apache seem to know every square inch of it. Surprise attacks, bad luck, and a lack of water combine to whittle down McAllister's forces. McAllister's only hope is to get a message to Fort Duell for rescue, unaware that the messenger has been staked out and tortured by the Apache. No help is coming.
While Chata's men are attacking the McAllister, Chatoa's camp in a protected canyon has only women, children, and old men left, allowing Jess to sneak in and rescue Ellen and her child. The smart thing to do would be to bring Ellen and the child to Fort Duell, but to do that would be to abandon McAllister and his men. Jess and Ellen fight their way back to McAllister, who has been left with just a handful of survivors. McAllister has just one wild hope for survival while he sends Jess on a near suicidal mission to get help from Fort Duell.
The suspense never lets up and both the action and the setting are vivid. Jess, of course falls in love with Ellen, and is torn between his feelings for her and the memory of his dead wife. Complicating things is that Jess learns -- late in the novel -- that the man who murdered Singing Sky was Ellen's husband.
A fast and totally satisfying read. Whipcrack Books, a new imprint from Stark House, was wise to choose this lone as their first release, biding well for the future of the line.
A word about the film, which was also scripted by Albert. The movie starred James Garner, Sidney Poitier, and Bibi Anderson. This was Poitier's first western and the film was directed by Ralph Nelson, who had recently directed Poitier in Lilies of the Field. Poitier portrayed Trotter as a former Buffalo Soldier, rather than an itinerant gambler. No mention was made kin the film of Poitier's color -- a wise decision, IMHO. In the film, the final stand-off took place in Diablo Canyon; in the novel the name Diablo was never mentioned, which must have left readers of the tie-in version scratching their heads. As with the novel, the film is also visually graphic in its violence and scenes of torture -- something that was rare at that time.
Marvin H. Albert (1924-1996) began his writing career for Quick and Look magazines, moving into novels in 1952 with The Road's End, published as by "Al Conroy." with the success of his first western, The Law and Jake Wade, he became a full-time writer, eventually publishing more than eighty-five novels under various names, mainly in the crime, mystery, detective, suspense, adventure, and western fields; this number includes twenty-five film and television novelizations. Albert also scripted at least five major films. His 1975 suspense novel The Gargoyle Conspiracy was nominated for an Edgar. He may be best remembered for a series of novels featuring private detective Pete (Pierre-Ange) Sawyer and for his Tony Rome novels, which were the basis for several films starring Frank Sinatra.
No matter under what name or what genre, Marvin H. Albert always provided entertaining, exciting reading.
