Freedom in My Soul

Heavily weighted with cowboy lore and jargon, rodeo vet and rancher Hyson's debut is an uneven melange of rodeo, romance and revenge set in the New Mexico cattle country of the 1950s. The novel is so full of clean fun and frolic, with just a touch of mystery, that it reads like The Hardy Boys with spurs. Halfbreed Frank Dalton is a top hand on the Cross S, a good-natured cowpoke who thrives on the freedom of the open range. His saddle pal is moneyed tenderfoot R.C. Roth, an unlikely but apt cowpoke with a talent for the piano. While the two young cowboys bust broncs, ride bulls and brand calves, drink, dance and chase after a couple of pretty cowgirls, their boss and several other ranch owners are troubled by a conspiracy to steal their land. Old Spanish land grant documents are missing and some prpperty ownership can't be proved, making their titles vulnerable to seizure by unknown speculators. Although a fatal accident, an attempted murder and a suicide darken Frank's and R.C.'s investigation, the ending (like too many of the characters) suffers from an acute case of the cutes, wrapping up this lightweight tale of life in the saddle. (Dec.)