<P>When Buck Peters went to Montana to start a new ranch, he found his partner dead, his cowhands being slaughtered like steers, himself shot full of holes, and a neighbor stealing his stock. All that could only mean one thing -- a range war was imminent.</P><P></P><P>Only Hopalong Cassidy could help Buck now -- but he was in Texas with a new bride and a ranch to run. Hoppy had no choice. He was Buck's last hope. He had to come.</P><P></P><P>Bill "Hopalong" Cassidy, an illiterate, tobacco-chewing, hard drinking, able-swearing son of the Old West, is one of the most popular fictional characters in American Western literature and the creation of quiet Illinois writer Clarence E. Mulford. Catching the eye of film producer Harry Sherman, Hopalong Cassidy became a movie staple with 66 Hopalong Cassidy film releases in the course of 13 years. The series was so popular that Life, Look and TV Guide published cover stories on the Hopalong Cassidy craze.</P>