
The scene opens on a lively night at the Flying H ranch, where lanterns flicker over a sprawling veranda and the air is thick with the clatter of cans, cow‑bells, and eager voices. Cousins, cowboys, and town elders have gathered for the biggest shivaree the Tumbling River range has ever seen, celebrating a wedding with jokes, music, and a generous pour of liquor that soon has Uncle Hozie wobbling between protest and indulgence. The colorful cast—Curt Bellew, the towering ranch hand; Buck West, the seasoned cowboy; and a chorus of outspoken ladies—swap ribald stories while the bride, praised for her beauty, is dressed by an Eastern seamstress, adding a touch of refinement to the rugged frontier.
Beneath the laughter, a sense of restless anticipation stirs, as the revelers whisper about old grudges, missing cattle, and the shadow of trouble that always haunts the open range. When the preacher finally arrives, the festivities promise to turn from merriment to a test of loyalty and courage, setting the stage for a tale where humor and danger ride side by side across the wild, rolling hills of the Tumbling River.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (253K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1935.
Credits
Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2023-04-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1883–1969
Best known for lively Western stories filled with humor, mystery, and ranch-country adventure, this Montana-born writer created the popular cowboy sleuths Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens. He also worked in Hollywood, writing for films from the silent era into the 1940s.
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