Max Brand 
The Man from Mustang 

The Man from Mustang by Max Brand is about Jim Silver who must befriend Ned and save him from deadly wildfires. Excerpt: ‘On the brow of the last hill that spilled from the knees of the mountains toward the prairie, under the last tree, ‘Silver’ sat with his knees hugged in his arms and watched the rider in the distance, and the prairie fire behind him. Parade, with the bridle off and saddle on, grazed nearby, biting off the short, sweet grass close to the roots, eating greedily, as though he knew that the taste of this pasturage was much sweeter than the tall, dry grasses beneath him.’