The title of my book is The Trail to Seven Pines, and the author is Louis Lamour. This book was published in June 1993, and the publisher was Bantam books. There are 239 pages in this book.

Hopalong Cassidy, the main character, rode alone on his horse one black rainy night. Down in the canyon, it was pitch back where his only source of light was the strike of lightning. He could hear three or four gunshots being fired and then no more. As he rode on, he saw a dead man laying there. He rode a little farther and he came upon another man. But this man was not dead, although he appeared to be badly wounded. The man told Hopalong his name, which was Jesse Lock. Hopalong carried him under a ledge and rode to town to get help. when the help returned, the man was found dead. Somebody had killed hiim. After Hopalong and the help talked about it for a while they went back to town.

When Hopalong got to town he went to Katie's restaurant. He ordered and then visited her for a while. She told him about a job offer at the Rocking R, which is a ranch, and much more.

Very quickly the news spread about the killing of Jesse Lock. Everyone knows that the murderers are in trouble because Ben Lock, Jesse Lock's brother, and Hopalong are going to figure out who did it. They will do almost anything to find the killers.

Hopalong went to take the job, that Katie mentioned earlier, as a rider. He talked to Bob Ronson, the owner of the Rocking R, about it and got the job. Hopalong began to get to know the job by taking a ride along the edges of it.

While on his ride, Hopalong met a man named Windy Gore. They had a quarrel and fought with their fists. After it was over, Hopalong just went on with his walk. when it became dark Hopalong headed back to the ranch.

Hopalong went to the hideout where his enemies Duck Bale and Bud Frazer were hiding. Bale greeted him when he got there because he thought Hopalong was sent by the boss. Hopalong and Bale visited for a while, and then Hopalong went to water his horse, hoping to get a chance to leave. Duck Bale woke Bud Frazer and told him about Hopalong(they knew him as Red River Regan). Bud became a little suspicious toward Red River Regan. He didn't really like him. Frazer got a little angry with Hopalong and whipped out his gun, but Hopalong was too fast and shot him first. Now was a good time for Hopalong to leave, and he did.

Hopalong was riding along and he began passing herds of cattle. He rode up to a man that he saw and stopped to talk to him. Hopalong asked a few questions. The man asked about the trouble at the cornfield and how he killed Bud Frazer. Hopalong did not know that anyone else knew about the killing, and he turned and left.

Some days later, Hopalong was traveling in the baking sun, and six miles behind him was Shorty Montana, a friend of his. Hopalong went down into the canyon. Duck Bale noticed him and went into a cement building where he told Laramie, another one of Hopalong's enemies. Hopalong snuck upstairs, then worked his way on the roof, and then back upstairs. Hopalong could hear the men talking below, none of whom were his friends. He dropped down from the trap door so he was on the first level, and there he stood. Shooting began, and then an earthquake. The house collapsed and that gave Hopalong the chance to flee.

When Hopalong was back in town he found out that Clarry Jacks, a very dangerous man, had been in town, and that he was not dead form the collapse. That was not good news because Jacks had gone crazy.

Hopalong was going to find Jacks no matter what it took now that he knew for sure that Jacks was alive. He left town to go find him. As Hopalong was going, he came upon a track. It was from a mountain lion. He kept moving. Soon he decided to hop off his horse because he knew he was close to where Clarry Jacks was. After a few minutes, Hopalong looked around, and behind him he saw the mountain lion. It sat there and stared at him while Hopalong stood perfectly still. Soon it drew back and walked away.

After that, Hopalong turned around and saw that Duck Bale had noticed him. That was not good. Somebody came out of the house, and Hopalong demanded for Jacks. Two shots were exchanged, and then nothing. Hopalong fell over because he got bark in his eyes. Ben Lock came at just the right time. He looked down at the house and on the ground lay Clarry Jacks! Hopalong had killed Clarry Jacks.

Hopalong Cassidy is the main character. He has dark hair and skin. He is also tall. Hopalong is very smart and can figure things out smoothly. He likes so stick to one plan rather than going to another. He is also an honest man whom people can trust.

The physical setting of the story is mostly on forest land. There is some desert and many canyons. It took place in Texas around the 1800's. The setting impacted the plot because many cowboys used the canyons and rocks for hideouts. If the plot had taken place somewhere else I dont think the book would have worked. The forest and the canyons are where the cowboys hid otherwise I don't know where they would have went. The impression of the plot in my mind makes it hard to imagine the book elsewhere.

The theme of the story is survival. I think the authors main purpose to writing the story was to show how Hopalong Cassidy did not leave the country because so many people hated him. He had strength within himself and he looked more toward the good than the bad. This is the kind of book I think people read for fun, so I don't think you learn anything from it because I didn't.

I think that the theme was obvious because Hopalong was trying to stay alive along with all the other Rocking R riders.

I didn't really like this book, but that might be because I couldn't grasp everything that was going on. I liked this book because Hopalong was very smart, and he could figure things out to a "T". I didn't really like it because I couldn't figure out which guys were Cassidy's friends and which ones were his enemies. There is little to no bad language in this book, and that was a plus. There were so many characters to remember; I thought that was a minus. The quality of the story being told was fine though. ( )

Hopalong Cassidy tries to help after a stagecoach robbery and murder, only to be accused of the crime himself. ( )