Skeeter Bill comes to town

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

76983

Title

Skeeter Bill comes to town

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A tall, legendary gunfighter returns to his old town to celebrate the twelfth birthday of a boy named after him. Skeeter Bill Sarg uncovers a web of corruption involving a bank robbery, a drugged bank robber, and a ruthless businessman plotting murder to seize local land and property.

Summary up to 500 words

In W. C. Tuttle's novelet *Skeeter Bill Comes to Town*, the legendary sharpshooter Skeeter Bill Sarg travels from Texas to Yellow Butte to celebrate the twelfth birthday of William Edwards, the son of the infamous outlaw Hooty Edwards. Hooty was wrongfully convicted of a bank robbery after being drugged by the saloon owner, Slim Lacey, and shot by a hired gunman. Skeeter arrives to find the town under the control of Sam Keenan, a broke businessman who purchased the saloon and restaurant, and his foreman, Johnny Greer, a notorious gunman. Skeeter's primary mission is to ensure the birthday celebration proceeds, but he soon uncovers a conspiracy. He learns that Hooty was incapacitated by drugs, making his conviction a miscarriage of justice. Furthermore, Skeeter discovers that Keenan and Greer are attempting to murder him because he knows the truth about the crime. To catch the killer, Skeeter sets a dummy dressed in his own clothes at a water hole. The ambush fails to kill him, but the dummy is riddled with bullets, proving an attempt on his life. The investigation deepens when Margie Edwards is fired from her job at the local restaurant, and a man named Dutch Held is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head. Skeeter deduces that the attack on him was not about the water hole but was an attempt to silence him. During the official inquest, Skeeter takes the stand and reveals the critical evidence: the rifle cartridges found at the water hole match a specific brand that Keenan had recently purchased. He exposes that the real bank robber was not Hooty, who was drugged, but a man hired by Keenan. The situation escalates when Johnny Greer attempts to shoot Skeeter from behind Slim Lacey during the testimony. Skeeter turns the tables, shooting Greer and wounding Keenan. Slim Lacey confesses to drugging Hooty under Keenan's orders. In the aftermath, Keenan reveals that Mrs. Edwards can now own the saloon he bought. With the villains exposed and the innocent saved, Skeeter celebrates William's birthday with the Edwards family, having restored justice to the valley.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Adventure
• Mystery
• Western