Badge of Honor - Goldtown Adventures #1

It's 1864 and Goldtown, California, has seen the last of its Gold Rush days. But the flecks of gold twelve-year-old Jeremiah "Jem" Coulter and an old prospector, "Strike," find in their played-out claim on Cripple Creek keep Jem's hope of striking it rich alive. In the meantime, selling frog legs and firewood with his sister, Ellie, will have to do. After all, Pa can't seem to make ends meet on their broken-down ranch.

When his father accepts a job as sheriff of lawless Goldtown, Jem's life turns upside down. He doesn't want to be a sheriff's kid. Worse... how many outlaws will use Pa's badge for target practice? Then Cripple Creek mysteriously dries up, and Jem's hope of panning more gold dribbles away. His prospector friend has also disappeared. Jem is determined to find some answers.

What Jem discovers plunges him head-on into danger, not only for himself but also for Strike and Ellie. Will it prove that the star on Pa's chest is just a target? Or convince Jem it is truly a badge of honor?