E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustration. See 23244-h.htm or 23244-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/2/4/23244/23244-h/23244-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/2/4/23244/23244-h.zip) THE DUDE WRANGLER by CAROLINE LOCKHART Frontispiece by Dudley Glyne Summers [Illustration: "Wallie swung the frying pan with all his strength ... knocking the six-shooter from Boise Bill's hand as he jumped across the fire at him"] Garden City, N. Y., And Toronto Doubleday, Page & Company 1921 Copyright, 1921, by Doubleday, Page & Company All Rights Reserved, Including That of Translation into Foreign Languages, Including the Scandinavian Copyright, 1921, by Street & Smith Corporation CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Girl from Wyoming 3 II. "The Happy Family" 10 III. "Pinkey" 18 IV. The Brand of Cain 24 V. "Gentle Annie" 33 VI. "Burning His Bridges" 42 VII. His "Gat" 47 VIII. Neighbours 62 IX. Cutting His Eyeteeth 69 X. The Best Pulling Team in the State 81 XI. Merry Christmas 92 XII. The Water Witch 112 XIII. Wiped Out 131 XIV. Lifting a Cache 142 XV. Collecting a Bad Debt 156 XVI. The Exodus 168 XVII. Counting Their Chickens 176 XVIII. The Millionaires 182 XIX. A Shock for Mr. Canby 196 XX. Wallie Qualifies as a First-Class Hero 207 XXI. "Worman! Worman!" 221 XXII. "Knocking 'Em for a Curve!" 231 XXIII. Rifts 247 XXIV. Hicks the Avenger 261 XXV. "And Just Then----" 301 THE DUDE WRANGLER CHAPTER I THE GIRL FROM WYOMING