B. M. Bower 
Cabin Fever 

Written in the style of a short story, without excessive detail or extraneous characters, this is the story of Bud Moore, who after his wife leaves him, unknowingly gets caught up in a crazy scheme that necessitates his running for his life across the Southwest on foot, until he meets and teams up with an old prospector, Cash Markham. The tale that follows is fun, and I really enjoyed it, including the surprise ending. (Goodreads)