A knife in time by Ray Humphreys
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A knife in time by Ray Humphreys is a Western short story written in the early 20th century. It centers on frontier mule-skinning, workplace rivalry, and a public wagon-race where a scorned driver’s knife and nerve become crucial. Tom Morgan, a slight but gifted mule skinner, is mocked by fellow teamsters for wearing a sheath knife, despite the wagon boss McCarthy valuing his skill. When the Q B outfit brings five polished
hitches to a rodeo race overseen by the owner, Ashton, the event turns dangerous: Ashton’s borrowed sorrel mule bolts, dragging him by a caught stirrup straight into the path of the racing wagons. Morgan leaps from his seat, scrambles along his moving hitch, mounts a leader, and slices that mule free to chase the runaway. His driverless team collides with another, killing a mule and injuring a driver, but Morgan presses on, transfers to the sorrel at speed, and cuts Ashton loose just in time. In the aftermath, Morgan explains he carries the knife after once losing mules he might have saved; Ashton, grateful and alive, ends the crew’s prejudice and promotes Morgan to assistant wagon boss. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Humphreys, Ray |
|---|---|
| Title | A knife in time |
| Original Publication | New York: Street & Smith Corporation, 1925. |
| Series Title | Produced from the November 7, 1925 issue of Western Story Magazine. |
| Credits | Roger Frank and Sue Clark |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Western stories |
| Subject | Muleteers -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76839 |
| Release Date | Sep 8, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 234 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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