Mother Lode - J.L. Crafts

A wagon load of ore worth hundreds of thousands is found in an abandoned mine within Amador County. Wes Patten summons Will Toal and his wife Beth to the Western Sierra gold country to verify title to property of the abandoned mine which had once been in Beth's name. Sources soon suspect the wagon of riches is the same one stolen thirty years earlier by the infamous bandit Joaquin Murietta. Arguments abound as to who owns the valuable cargo. The US Government needs to bolster its reserves and demands possession. Wes Patten claims ownership based on the law of finders as it was on his property. The Mexican Government claims ownership as Mexican Nationals panned the ore before the conclusion of the Treaty of Hidalgo. But then the ore is stolen once again. Has the ghost of Joaquin reappeared? The theft stokes fires of old fears that the bandit has returned to exact his revenge for the Mexicanos who panned the gold but were run off their claims by unscrupulous Euros who joined the gold rush. Will Toal is tasked to track the thieves. But who is really entitled to the gold? Steeped in emotions of revenge, fear, greed, and retribution, Will must navigate his own conflicts as to who is right without getting shot in the process.