The Devil's Dooryard

"The Devil's Dooryard" by W. C. Tuttle is a complete novelette written in the early 20th century. This work of fiction centers around cowboys in a rugged, lawless frontier town, exploring themes of rivalry, romance, and the dangers of life in the American West. The main characters include two cowboys named Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens, who find themselves embroiled in a feud between rival ranches while navigating friendships, gunfights, and the complexities of love and honor. The opening of the novelette introduces readers to a hectic scene in Sundown City, where Hashknife and Sleepy engage in witty banter about the lack of romance in their lives as a gunfight erupts around them. We meet other characters such as Windy Woods, who shares the history of their ranch and its troubled past with the Bar 20 outfit. Amidst the chaos of bullets flying and the introductions of various punchers, the narrative hints at deeper tensions in the ranching community, a potential romance, and introduces the figure of Mary Jane Haley, suggesting her importance to the unfolding drama. The story sets the stage for adventure and conflict as the characters grapple with their destinies in the shadow of the larger feuds swirling around them.