“Oh, I want to go back to the Rio Grande! The Rio! That’s where I long to be!”
The words, sung in a soft and musical tenor, died away and changed to a plaintive whistle, leaving the scene more lonely than ever. For a few moments nothing was to be seen except the endless expanse of wilderness, and nothing was to be heard save the mournful warble of the singer. Then a horse and rider were suddenly framed where the sparse timber opened out upon the plain. Together, man and mount made a striking picture; yet it would have been hard to say which was the more picturesque—the rider or the horse. The latter was a splendid beast, and its spotless hide of snowy white glowed in the rays of the afternoon sun. The rider, still whistling his Texas tune, swung in the concha-decorated California stock saddle as if he were a part of his horse. He was a lithe young figure, dressed in fringed buckskin, touched here and there with the gay colors of the Southwest and of Mexico. Two six-guns, wooden-handled, were suspended from a cartridge belt of carved leather, and hung low on each hip. “Reckon we-all bettah cut south, Blizzahd,” he drawled to his horse. “We haven’t got any business on the Llano.” By listening we’ll find out where he’s headed next.
Paul S. Powers (1905–1971), also known as Ward M. Stevens, was a writer of Western pulp fiction during the 1920s through the 1940s. He also wrote stories of several other genres, including horror, detective, noir, and even romance. Several of his very first stories were published in Weird Tales in 1925–26. He was also the author of the novel Doc Dillahay, published by Macmillan Company in 1949. He was also a rare book collector and known expert on Western Americana.
John Rayburn spent part of seven decades as a sports/news anchor on radio and television. He did play-by-play of pro baseball, pro football, high school, college, AAU, and Olympic trials basketball (including NIT and NCAA national tournaments), covered PGA golf tournaments, and broadcast college hockey at NCAA championship levels. He offered personal anecdotes, plus interviews/conversations with a lengthy group of the brightest stars in major sports events. Behind the scenes looks were offered with admiring and amusing takes on teams, individuals, coaches, managers, and others associated with athletic endeavors. World Series Classics are a recognized work of art about the exciting and fascinating world of sports, baseball in particular.