Sixteen to One on Friday by W. C. Tuttle
Sixteen to One on Friday by W. C. Tuttle is a humorous Western short story written in the early 20th century. Set around a rough Montana cow town, it spins a light, comic tale about range hands, a zealous sheriff, and a notorious whiskey cache. The likely topic is two cowboys caught up in a case of mistaken identity after a stagecoach robbery, whose booze-fueled misadventures—and a brush with escaped circus animals—turn
the tables in unexpected ways. Shiner Seymour narrates how his partner, Friday McGovern, rides to court Matilda, daughter of Sheriff Wilmot, just as a stage holdup points suspicion at two riders who look exactly like them. Fleeing the sheriff’s posse, they hide in a secret cabin near Blue Joint Canyon and uncover a cache of “Sixteen to One” whiskey; after sampling it, they glimpse unbelievable long-necked and striped beasts that spook their horses. The “hallucinations” prove real—escaped animals from a wrecked traveling show—whose sudden appearances panic the true bandits and even the sheriff into tumbling into a clay pit, where Shiner and Friday easily secure the outlaws and earn a reward. Back in town, Friday destroys a letter proposing marriage to Matilda, and Shiner quips that his chances look “sixteen to one,” giving the caper a wry, full-circle finish. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Tuttle, W. C. (Wilbur C.), 1883-1969 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Riesenberg, Sidney H., 1885-1971 |
| Title | Sixteen to One on Friday |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: The Ridgway Company, 1917. |
| Series Title | Produced from the May 1917 issue of Adventure magazine. |
| Credits | Prepared by volunteers at BookCove (bookcove.net) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Western stories |
| Subject | Humorous stories |
| Subject | Montana -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78340 |
| Release Date | Apr 2, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 437 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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