Synopsis:
Jake Robinson had raised his boys to be self-reliant. His oldest son, Robert, was 17 and his other son, Roger, had just turned 14. Jake was widowed, his wife, Eleanor, had died in childbirth with Roger and he had raised the boys by himself ever since. They had a good life, they all live in Oracle, Arizona. Jake had been with the Highway Patrol from the time he had gotten out of college and had risen to the position of Deputy Commander of the Tucson District that covered the entire southern part of the state. He had inherited his parents' ranch near Greer, up in the White Mountains in northeastern Arizona and the three of them had spent their summers restoring the old house and barns. The last summer, the two boys had spent all summer, without Jake being there, at the ranch and had completed the renovations they had been working on for several years. The times were worrisome, the country had entered into an aggressive period and many of the middle eastern countries had banded together, threatening war upon the United States. Jake had spent his entire four week vacation working with his sons, stocking the ranch with food and survival needs. They had installed an underground fuel tank for diesel that contained 5,000 gallons of stabilized fuel. They had made underground vaults for two 1,500 gallon propane tanks and he had purchased a refrigerator and a large, walk-in freezer, both of which ran on propane or electricity if it was available. They had filled the woodshed with firewood and had installed steel plates on the inside of the doors and windows. They had camouflaged the spring up on the hill and buried a new steel pipe to bring water down to the house. They had also strengthened the barn, much to the disgust of their caretaker-handyman, Gus Yellow Feather. Gus was an Apache Indian and a member of the nearby White Mountain Tribe. He had worked in the ranch since he had been a teenager, except for a four year hitch in the Marine Corps. He lived in a small apartment at the back of the barn and he cared for the six horses and watched over the place when the Robinsons were not there.
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