The Adventures of Tom Malley Series
Volume I: The Making of a Man
Tom Malley is a young man of fifteen when he loses his parents on their way west. After caring for their bodies and not knowing what to do he continued traveling northwest. Starving to death he was asleep and rode his horse right into an Indian village. The remote tribe had heard of the white man but never seen one. They had a good laugh at his expense then took him in taught him their language and how to live in the harsh winter environment. He quickly realized he knew less than the smallest of the tribe about the great mother earth.
One day after the long winter while swimming in a snow melt stream with several braves he dove to the bottom and found a gold nugget the size of a small bird egg. After inspecting the mineral he looked around to his surprise he discovered he was swimming in a stream laced with gold nuggets. It became his habit to swim often and collect the nuggets that were worthless to his adopted people.
When returning from an elk hunt one day he was suddenly shot twice by arrows. A jealous brave had seen the woman he wanted for a wife watching Tom and had shot the arrows. After healing from that incident Tom was forced to move on. He took the gold he had hidden; traveled southeast then with the mountain passes closing he had to spend a lonely winter in a valley filled with elk.
It was well into spring when he got out of the mountains and met a trapper that partnered up with him for the rendezvous. There he gets his first introduction to feminine pleasures. He also is instrumental in killing a hungry grizzly bear that is intent on killing their horses. Just before he leaves the rendezvous a drunken scalp hunter tries to force him to sell his horses, when Tom refuses the evil man shoots one and Tom fights the drunkard so his other horse can get away. It’s only after he gets up that he discovers he mortally wounded the man that’s still trying to kill him.
Months later Tom finds himself in St. Louis to get his animals reshod and resupply himself. There he encounters a tough sheriff that’s a bully and hates Indians as well as anyone that has the appearance of one. Circumstances demand he help a squaw that is brutalized by the sheriff after a physical confrontation that leaves the sheriff badly injured. He rides west with the squaw for three weeks to get her close to the villages then when she proves she can take care of herself he makes the decision to resume his travels east.
With winter again coming he needed to resupply. It was the first town he intended to stop in since St. Louis. The instant he rode in he knew it was a mistake and didn’t stop. However he did manage to get the Warden Brothers attention and they followed him in hopes of robbing a stranger. Once again Tom is forced to deal with men that have ill intentions toward him. He leads the four brothers deep into the wilderness where they meet more than their match.
During his travels Tom Malley meets many colorful and expressive people, each having an influence on his life. The interactions with these people and the experiences he goes through molds him into the man he is destined to become.
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Volume II: The Winter of Pleasure
In this second volume of The Adventures of Tom Malley series, the skilled frontiersman finds himself facing another long winter alone. After meeting a family of gypsies from the old country, it is agreed he will stay the winter and even teach the lost family how to live in the mountains while providing them with venison. He meets the local Indian tribe and arranges for the family to meet the village as well as perform for them. The family is well received for coming to entertaining the village and is even invited back in the spring.
In early spring, while scouting the area looking for signs of winter leaving he finds himself right in the middle of an Indian war. Now, Tom must use all his skills to get the family out of the wilderness before the warring tribe catches them. They travel many days through deep snow, spending freezing nights with late winter storms without a fire to keep warm. The exhausted group finally make it to a town that’s already been attacked by Indians. There they find their first hot meal and shelter from the weather.
When the army arrives, he discovers they have captured the wrong Indian and proves his innocence while catching the real scalp hunter. Then he recruits the man he just rescued and together they lead the army into a location to capture the tribe that started the war. With the war averted, Tom leaves to continue his travels and eventually makes it to Atlanta then several more large cities along the eastern coast, stopping in each to deposit some of the gold and lightening his burden while keeping his trail impossible to follow.
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Volume III: Finding His Way
In this third book of the series The Adventures of Tom Malley the well-traveled frontiersman has finally reached his goal of Philadelphia. His only problem was the wound in his shoulder from the arrow was causing him trouble. After visiting the bank and stabling his stock he arrives at the home of the doctor. Stunned by the beauty of the young woman that opened the door he almost forgot he was still in pain.
During the winter he takes supplies to an Indian village that burned, if it wasn’t for the daring man facing the horrible winter storm the village would’ve perished. Eventually he marries the doctor’s daughter and they move to Texas to start a cattle ranch as well as raise a family. Their life together begins with a duel the day after they return from their honeymoon. Everyone is terrified of what the Commodore will do to Tom as he doesn’t seem worried, but after the duel the witnesses are so shaken by the skill and unyielding brutality of Tom Malley that several lose their breakfast.
After departing the ship in New Orleans Tom and Elizabeth find they are now taking care of a slave that was almost killed after losing in the fighting pit to another slave. Tom refuses to own another person and while his wife tends to the wounds he seeks out an attorney so freedom papers can be drawn up. Their trip to Texas and building their home is difficult, but with the help of their friend Ben (a free man) they manage.
Before actually starting their ranch Tom must protect his wife and friend against an Indian attack, enjoy the birth of a son and deal with a land pirate while helping to acquire a specific slave woman for Ben, then losing their home to another Indian attack. Once he finally gets the ranch going he realizes he’s been buying stolen cattle from a wealthy Mexican cattle baron. When he tells his wife, she doesn’t seem to care and sets the tone for how he handles anyone that steals his stock.
Over the years Tom goes through the tragedy of losing his wife, raising a son to be a respected man, War Between the States, building a cattle ranch as well as a shipping business, dealing with bandits, horse thieves and Indian raids. The challenges of living on the wild Texas ranch are met with a burning desire to never give up.
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