On the dodge

On the dodge by Will James is a Western short story written in the early 20th century. Centered on frontier justice and survival, it follows a drifting cowboy who is mistaken for a bank robber and must outwit a posse, recover his stolen buckskin horse, and prove his innocence. The narrator tracks his stolen horse, is seized by a posse, and spends a tense night under guard at a ranch, where a sympathetic young woman helps him escape with a fast mount and supplies. After a long chase and clever evasions—mixing his trail with mustangs and ditching his saddle—he stumbles on the outlaws’ hidden camp and his buckskin. An ambush leaves him bound, but he feigns injury, draws a hidden boot gun, and sparks a close gunfight that wounds him and drops one outlaw. The posse, drawn by the shots, arrives to capture the remaining men and reveal their wounded companion as a government agent. Cleared at last, the cowboy rides away on his buckskin, thinking of the girl who believed in him.

On the dodge, by Will James. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78416.