 Buell is set in the Idaho Territory in the1870’s. Deep-seated guilt over the death of his mother at his birth made Buell Mace shy and withdrawn as a youth. He suppressed his desire to be loved and learned to be solitary. Ironically, the loneliness bred a fear of being alone, and his confusion made him suspicious of others and a social outcast. Now, as a young man, a dark, alter-ego surfaces whenever he feels threatened. An event that the law could see as murder forces him to leave the company of his boyhood friend, Simon, the only person he’s truly comfortable with. Alone with his shadowy nemesis, he seeks a new place to start anew. He soon meets a transient, Arley Hill, who is on his way to the gold fields near Idaho City. Buell decides to partner up with him. Several confrontations along the way show who Buell is: first with an Army patrol, suspicious; then, with a party of three Indians, volatile and deadly; and later, with some of the cruder elements of the Western frontier, vengeful. As they travel, Arley attempts to break down the barriers that Buell has so carefully built. He tries to show Buell that destiny is not absolute; there are options and detours, and relates a story where Arley beat his own abusive father to death. Buell’s dark side becomes more and more assertive and violent as Arley works to instill some sense of morality in Buell.
In late summer, they arrive in Idaho City where Buell meets an older woman, Emma Traen. A hard-bitten saloon owner, businesswoman, and ex-whore, she recognizes his weakness and plays to it. Unknown to Buell, Emma has a secret partner and they're in Idaho City to execute a swindle of the town’s most prominent citizen, Piers Modine. Piers is aggressive and ruthless, and backed up by a sadistic killer named Waystead. Emma hires Buell when she feels threatened by Piers and Waystead. She also hires Arley to run a hydraulic gold mining operation for her.
Buell discovers that he relates to Emma in a confused melding of mother figure, friend, and employer, and despite herself, Emma starts to develop maternal feelings for him. Arley sees her duplicity from the beginning, and does his best to protect his young charge. Someone destroys vital equipment at Emma’s claim, and coerces her workers into leaving. She tells Buell and Arley to go to a man named Yung Wing, head of the local Chinese. Wing agrees to help, for a price, and supplies a Chinese crew. As Buell guards the mining operation, it is attacked again, and he exacts a terrible toll on the perpetrators; his dark side in complete control. In a confrontation over who was responsible for the attack, Buell meets Modine for the first time. He leaves no doubt he sees Buell as an enemy. Moreover, Buell sees Waystead as the most evil man he’s ever met and the first man Buell has ever feared.
Modine is determined to take everything Emma has, and Buell, more and more emotionally involved, becomes equally determined to prevent that. Arley tries to provide a steady hand and Buell comes to see Arley as only the second friend he's ever had. Lies and deception are revealed as Buell's life is shattered and his demon takes complete control. Tempting death and laughing at danger, Buell seems bound and determined to die. Only one thing can save him and he is completely unaware of what that might be.
| |
Buell
