Dancing Devil rangeW. C. TuttleOmniClassics · Literature
Dancing Devil range
W. C. TuttleA supposedly routine assignment to price cattle ranches brings Hashknife and Sleepy into a valley darkened by murder and financial collapse.
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About the book
Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens arrive at Northgate just in time to witness a man shot beside their freight train. They have been sent to the Dancing Devil country to investigate the purchase of several ranches, but the killing makes Sleepy suspicious of the job's apparent simplicity. A failed bank has already left local cattlemen desperate, and Christmas promises little comfort to the troubled community. Tuttle combines the partners' dry exchanges with a mystery in which property, money, and violence cannot be considered separately. Their modest appearance as drifting cowboys allows them to move among people whose interests are not immediately apparent. The approaching holiday gives the investigation an additional human urgency, beyond discovering who fired the first shot they heard.
- Financial distress
- Partnership and investigation
- Community and goodwill
Why read it
The contrast between Christmas memories and the valley's present troubles gives the range mystery a distinctive emotional setting.
English story from the October 25, 1948 issue of Short Stories Magazine