Destry Rides Again (novel)
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| Author | Max Brand |
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| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Western fiction |
| Publisher | Reader's League of America (serialized version, titled "Twelve Peers," published by Street & Smith's Western Story Magazine). |
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Publication date
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1930 |
| OCLC | 47072698 |
Destry Rides Again is a 1930 western novel by Max Brand. One of Brand's most famous works, it remained in print 70 years after its first publication. It is the story of Harrison Destry's quest for revenge against the 12 jurors whose personal malice leads them to wrongfully convict him of robbery.
Harrison Destry, a man who thinks he is better than anyone else and is constantly "proving" it by his skill with a gun, and his ability to win fistfights he provokes, has just lost his horse and his saddle in a card game. (A cowboy who loses his saddle loses the respect of other cowboys.) He has few friends and many enemies (most of whom he created) in his home town of Wham, Texas. But the teenage Charlotte Dangerfield, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, adores him.
Only one of the men Destry has beaten in a fight, Chester Bent, seems to bear him no ill-will; Bent stakes the penniless Destry $100. But Bent has just robbed the Express, and (when the wind blows Destry's jacket open) slips cash from the robbery into Destry's pocket. Knowing Destry's character, Bent expects he will waste the money on liquor and gambling, rather than replacing his horse and saddle. This is indeed what happens, and Destry becomes the prime suspect, the planted cash being all but proof of his guilt.
Failing to comprehend how much trouble he is in, Destry neglects his defense and is stunned when convicted by a jury stacked with his enemies, who ignore the fact that the robber's description bears no relation whatever to Destry. He is sentenced to 10 years and swears to wreak vengeance on the jurors. Only Charlotte believes Destry is not guilty.
Released six years later for good behavior, Destry sets about systematically ruining the jurors' lives. He does not murder any of them, though he kills some in self-defense. Destry explains he is determined to stay within the law from now on (though some of his actions, such as trespassing and safe-cracking, are of dubious legality). His chief concern is to show that none of the "jury of his peers" is, in fact, his equal. Destry remains ignorant of Bent's role in framing him; Bent is one of the few people who treat Destry kindly, and Destry comes to count Bent as his best friend. But Bent is helping the remaining jurors organize to murder their nemesis. Anticipating a possible showdown with Destry, Bent has improved his shooting and fighting skills to the point where he is better than Destry.
While on the run, Destry meets Willie Thornton, a boy who has adopted Destry as his hero, based on the tall tales he has been told. Thornton later secretly observes Bent murdering a creditor. Bent uses Destry's knife to kill his victim, in order to frame Destry again. Bent then spots Willie and chases him; Willie escapes by diving into a raging river, from which he emerges weak and sick. Though running a fever, Willie steals a horse and makes a long, hard ride back to Wham to warn Destry of Bent's treachery. So warned, Destry fights his way out of a trap Bent has laid for him. The story's emotional climax occurs when Destry realizes Willie risked his life to save him and might very well die:
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