Alden the Pony Express Rider: Or, Racing for Life
1909
April 16, 1860. The town of St. Joseph, Missouri holds its breath as the first Pony Express rider prepares to depart. Young Alden Payne watches with fire in his eyes, hungry for the same speed, danger, and glory. When he finally mounts his own horse and races across the untamed plains, he discovers that adventure demands more than courage it demands character. Edward Sylvester Ellis pulses this tale with the raw energy of the American frontier. Alden's hot temper and fierce ambition drive him forward, but it's his bonds with companions like the comical Jethro that give the story its heart. The Pony Express itself becomes a character: those desperate riders covering impossible miles, carrying messages that could change the fate of nations, always one step ahead of death. For readers who grew up on Louis Amours and Willa Cather, this is frontier romance made visceral. Ellis captures a vanished America where a young man could race toward his destiny and either find it or be consumed by the trying.
