The trail of deceptionW. C. TuttleOmniClassics · Literature
The trail of deception
W. C. TuttleA broke bookkeeper reported dead takes another man's invitation to Arizona and enters a dangerous inheritance scheme.
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About the book
Jim Bailey's unemployed roommate borrows his best clothes and watch, then dies in an accident that leads the authorities to identify the victim as Jim. Facing eviction and unable to find work, the very much living bookkeeper opens a letter intended for the dead man. It offers transportation to Arizona and instructions to assume the name Jim Meade. Jim takes the chance, arriving in a ranching community where his borrowed identity has consequences he does not understand. Mary Deal, whose recently deceased guardian owned the Lazy H, gives those consequences a personal meaning. Tuttle mixes comic discomfort with crime as an inexperienced city man discovers that an easy escape from his old life may place him inside somebody else's carefully prepared deception.
- Borrowed identity
- Inheritance and honesty
- Opportunity and exploitation
Why read it
Jim's accidental freedom from his own name creates an entertaining contrast between what he expects and what others have planned.
English story from Giant Western, Spring 1948