Silver .41

"Silver .41" by W. C. Tuttle is a Western mystery novel written in the early 20th century. It follows newly elected sheriff “Skeeter Bill” Sarg and his dry-witted deputy Kaintuck Kennedy as they are drawn into a Moon River Valley counterfeiting case that quickly widens into gunplay, politics, and ranch rivalries. A wary government undercover man, Frank Moran, and the domineering cattle boss Monk Clark complicate the hunt, while young cowhand Curley Adams and Joy Gregory add personal stakes to the turmoil. The opening of the novel introduces Skeeter Bill in office when Moran quietly reveals a flood of near-perfect counterfeit silver dollars tied to the valley. Around the county we meet key players: Monk Clark, who wants to control local power; Hank Gregory and his capable daughter Joy, newly back from away; the talkative old-timer Calamity; and Curley Adams, who buys the rundown Box X and tangles with Moran in the saloon. Skeeter and Kaintuck ride out, stumble on a coyotestripped skeleton and a pristine .41-caliber bullet cast in silver, then head toward the Silver Bell mine—where they witness men unloading a wagon across a canyon and are fired upon, Kaintuck losing his horse. Soon they learn the “hold-up” was a bold theft of a thousand pounds of bullion; the thieves used muffled pack animals and vanish into the hills, leaving Skeeter with slim but telling clues he pointedly won’t share with Moran. Meanwhile, Clark’s jealousy over Joy and Curley turns menacing as he reminds Hank of a buried past—hinting at blackmail—and the mystery’s personal and political tensions begin to tighten.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.