Slocum 391. Slocum Along Corpse River

Slocum takes no prisoners... Recovering from a streak of bad luck at five-card stud, John Slocum stops by a river in the Grand Tetons to fill his canteen-only to find three dead bodies floating downstream. Slocum knows to find another route. But a flash of silver from a rider upstream strikes his curiosity. The rider leads Slocum to a towering wooden gate strewn with armed guards. Slocum wants to turn back, but a man with a rifle appears and persuades him otherwise.
When the guards demand he pay a steep toll or leave, he plays it smart. Waiting for nightfall, Slocum discovers a rotted hole in the gate and sneaks through. But the guards arrest him and take him to be judged by a man known as "the emperor." When the judgment is "the pits, " Slocum's left wondering what fate will meet him-and hoping for a change of luck.