Book details
With the joker wild
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Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 79247
- Title
- With the joker wild
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
In this humorous Western tale, prospectors Ike Harper and the self-proclaimed wise man Magpie Simpkins strike gold but face a dilemma: how to bribe forest supervisors to avoid arrest for illegal logging. Magpie's misguided generosity leads to comedic chaos as he attempts to buy off the law with gold and mules, only to realize the paystreak is exhausted and the consequences of his 'wisdom' are dire.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
Set against the rugged backdrop of Whispering Crick, W. C. Tuttle's satirical tale 'With the Joker Wild' chronicles the financial and moral collapse of Ike Harper and his pardner, Magpie Simpkins. After discovering a rich gold vein, the duo constructs a dam and sawmill, only to face opposition from forest supervisors enforcing timber laws. Convinced of his own brilliance, Magpie decides that bribery is the only solution to their predicament. He generously gifts the supervisors gold nuggets, mules, supplies, and even Ike's cherished pearl-handled gun, believing he has secured their friendship and immunity. Ike, however, views these actions as blatant insanity and watches in distress as their fortune vanishes. The humor escalates as Magpie's 'gifts' deplete their entire wealth. Just as the pair is broke and facing potential arrest, the very supervisors return, not as friends, but as a sheriff and a forest ranger seeking information about the men they had just left. The story takes a final twist when Swede Carlson reveals that the supposedly rich paystreak was merely a small pocket, leaving the duo with nothing but their honor and freedom lost. The narrative serves as a biting commentary on greed, foolishness, and the thin line between generosity and insanity in the Old West. Through dialect-heavy dialogue and exaggerated characterizations, Tuttle illustrates how Magpie's misguided 'wisdom' leads to total ruin, proving that honesty is indeed the best policy and that luck often outweighs intellect.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79247.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg79247.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-08-14 04:22 UTC
People
Authors
- W. C. Tuttle
Classification
Categories
No categories stored.