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E-Book · Free to read · English

The tin god of Twisted River

W. C. Tuttle

Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens ride into the cow town of Calumet, where local cowboys recognize them at once and welcome them into the Ten Bar saloon. The scene introduces their rough-and-ready friendship, their joking way with strangers, and the fact that they are capable hands who move from place to place and do not stay long in any one town. A hint is also given that old man Sibley has been asking about Hashknife, suggesting unfinished business in the country.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The head hunters

Joseph Samachson; Frederik Pohl

Set on a hazardous asteroid isotope plant, the story follows John Tinker as he does maintenance work in vacuum conditions alongside robots and his difficult partner, Drake. Tinker becomes distracted by a woman he knows only through radio contact, and their exchange develops around the realities of asteroid life, radiation danger, and his uncertainty about her age and identity.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Monkeying with ancestors

W. C. Tuttle

Two cowboys stranded on a depot platform near Paradise meet an Italian animal handler who arrives with Ajax, a trained ape he insists is worth a great deal of money. After the ape is mistaken for a monkey and the man quarrels with the baggage car crew, the story follows the cowboys’ growing fascination with Ajax as they share drink, cigarettes, and even a revolver with him. The ape’s behavior increasingly seems human, and the men start treating him like one of their own.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Muley's morals

W. C. Tuttle

A Western short story about a small crew of cowpunchers and their rough-edged, humorous dealings with ranch life around the Cross J. The men include Muley Bowles, Telescope Tolliver, Chuck Warner, and Henry Clay Peck, with their misadventures shaped by a stern ranch owner, old Whittaker, and the tensions that follow after they eat his hens. The story also sketches the odd, comic personalities of the cowboys and nearby characters such as Pole Cat Perkins.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The range-boomer

W. C. Tuttle

Set in Thunder County, this Western centers on the court case of Wild Moore, the young son of Box M cattle owner Flint Moore. The story establishes a tense courthouse gathering around the verdict, the Moore family, and the long-standing hostility between Flint Moore and sheriff Jeff Garvin. When Wild is found not guilty, the courtroom erupts into conflict, with accusations of a crooked verdict and violence threatening to break out.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Pariahs of Piperock

W. C. Tuttle

Set in Piperock and neighboring Eagle, the story follows Ike and Dirty Shirt Jones after they leave Yaller Rock County angry over a local option temperance campaign. When they learn that a dry-speech candidate is tied to an election effort in Piperock, they hurry back and get drawn into gambling-house trouble in Eagle, where a quarrel over the wheel turns violent. The tale centers on election politics, temperance agitation, and the hard-edged humor of frontier life.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Pirates from Piperock

W. C. Tuttle

This Western short story follows Ike Harper and Dirty Shirt Jones as they meet the melancholy “Solemn” Sales, who tries to puzzle out whether a man named Baldy died from a rattlesnake bite, whisky, or both. Their talk leads them to Horse Heaven, a rough hilltop mining town built around a spring and dominated by four saloons, a store, and an undertaking shop. Solemn describes the place as violent, divided, and short on law, with a marshal’s job nobody wants.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Promoting Polecat Perkins

W. C. Tuttle

Set in a Western ranching world, this story follows Henry Clay Peck and his companions as they deal with Chuck Warner, a habitual drinker whose drunkenness leads him into trouble and tall tales. Chuck appears with a stranger he calls Brady, a supposed detective from Chicago, and the group struggles to make sense of their condition and Chuck’s schemes. Later, Chuck returns sober with an idea he presents as a way to rise above ordinary cowboy life and make use of opportunity.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Groping

Helen R. Hull

This short story follows Cynthia Bates, a shy teenage girl in a dormitory room with Mary, whose lively confidence and talk of being engaged draw Cynthia out of her reticence. During the night, Mary kisses Cynthia and explains love as something she must discover for herself, leaving Cynthia startled, stirred, and uncertain. The next morning Cynthia tries to set the experience aside, but it continues to shape her thoughts as she returns to ordinary campus life.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The fire

Helen R. Hull

This short story follows Cynthia Bates, a teenage girl caught between her parents’ rules and her wish to visit Miss Egert, the woman who has been giving her painting lessons. After slipping away from her father’s office, she goes to Miss Egert’s house at night, where the woman is preparing a bonfire and welcomes her in. The opening centers on Cynthia’s nervous determination, her family’s disapproval, and her attachment to the studio and her sketches.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The drums roll

Ernest Haycox

During the American Revolution, a regiment in Washington’s army is ordered to strike tents as confusion spreads through camp. Around the fire, soldiers grumble about missing baggage, bitter weather, and the exhausting marches around Brandywine and Philadelphia, while Tod Barkeloo complains about the campaign’s setbacks. The arrival of Ira Parcel, a partly mysterious new man with a leg injury and an uncertain military story, draws Barkeloo’s suspicion as he presses for an explanation of the army’s movements.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The proof

W. C. Tuttle

On Christmas Eve in a snowy Northwest cattle town, Wanderin’ Jones sits in a saloon and learns of a brewing quarrel between two cowboy brothers over the same girl. The story follows him as he goes to the girl’s home, where music, a family gathering, and the arrival of Archie Bell draw out his buried feelings from years of wandering. When Archie reaches the porch, Wanderin’ intervenes and is invited inside by the young woman.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Abused Russia

Charles Christian Young

Charles Christian Young’s account records travels through European and Asiatic Russia beginning in 1907 and later trips into St. Petersburg, West Turkestan, Bokhara, and the northern border of Afghanistan. It is framed by acknowledgments to Russian and American officials who helped secure introductions, permits, and access, and it gathers material from earlier articles on Russian life, politics, and perceptions of America. The book also reflects the author’s conversations with Russian acquaintances about American race relations, mob violence, and ideas of civilization.

E-Book · Free to read · English

The double-crossing of Dobie

W. C. Tuttle

Dobie Dalton writes to Hank about his uneasy life in a frontier town near Mesquite City, where he is married to Emmeline and tied by marriage to the hard-edged Uncle Gabe Galesburg. After Gabe buys the Manzanita stage line and makes Dobie his manager, Dobie complains that he is treated like a mere driver and clashes with his partner while worrying about stage holdups and business control. The story also introduces Devil Creek Davis, a taciturn acquaintance whom Dobie later deputizes to take a stage to Manzanita.

E-Book · Free to read · English

Alley ways

Helen R. Hull

A short story about Cynthia Bates, a young sales clerk, and Queenie, a girl troubled by an attachment to a married man. As they walk from the store toward Queenie’s home, Cynthia tries to help her resist the relationship and imagines she can guide her toward a better future. The story also shows Cynthia’s own pride in her work and the contrast between her ambitions and Queenie’s uncertain prospects.

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