The misdeal

The misdeal by W. C. Tuttle is a Western novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on four rough-as-rawhide cowhands—led by the cool, dangerous Leather Kleig—whose secret rustling for their cranky boss is upended when he dies and a refined niece with a pious lawyer takes over the NR ranch. The clash between range cunning and legal authority drives the story, with crisp saloon action, crooked alliances, and the fate of kindhearted Ma Coogan sharpening the stakes. At the start, four NR hands—Leather Kleig, Wheezer Bell, Chet Wells, and Wooden-shoe Van Dorn—reveal they’ve swelled the ranch herd by misbranding for old Nick Ralls, only to see him die and leave the place to his distant niece, Jane Cleveland, who arrives with lawyer Eph Williams and Sheriff Ben Murtch and promptly plans to fire them and replace Ma Coogan. The men bluff for back pay and try to shield Ma, while a trip to town brings trouble: Wooden-shoe is jailed over a D-Bar-D horse until Leather quietly spooks Williams with the truth about the doctored brands, leading to a hasty “fix” and Wooden-shoe’s release. In the Shoshone Saloon, Leather foils deputy Clay Hardy’s attempt to shoot gambler Spade Hollister and publicly cowhands him; later the cowboys return to find their bunkhouse nailed shut, Ma removed to town (where Leather stakes her to a room), and an after-midnight ambush at the ranch gate that leaves Hardy wounded in the brush. Meanwhile, someone knocks Williams senseless in his office, setting tensions, secrets, and reprisals simmering as the opening closes.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.