Tough Country

A card shark's son, Jim Canning should have learned early about dirty deals. He began to get the idea, though, when a jury sent him up to Huntsville on a phony charge.
That's where he found out about a poker face, courtesy of some guards whose skill with hickory clubs taught him how to keep his mouth and his face blank.
But the final touch to his education came parole. To get his land back and clear himself he needed a gun. If he used it he'd break his parole and rot in jail. If he didn't use it he'd rot six feet under.
Jim Canning was still playing against a stacked deck.