Rustlers' roost

"Rustlers' roost" by W. C. Tuttle is a Western novel written in the early 20th century. It follows wrongfully convicted cowhand Tex Rowland, who escapes a corrupt warden, survives a train wreck that leaves him with a reconstructed face and a new name, and slips back incognito into a range war between proud rancher Rory McPherson and powerful cattle-and-banking boss Big Jim Mott. As suspicion, rustling, and politics churn around Antelope and Rainbow Valley, Tex’s hidden return tangles with his love for Della Marsh and the shadowy dealings of outfits like Paint Pablo’s.

The opening of the novel shows Tex in prison, warned that the warden is framing him for a recent break; with the help of trusty Hump Sherrill he flees, Hump is killed at the gate, and Tex escapes across a river, only to be caught in a mountain train wreck and wake in a hospital with a surgically rebuilt face and the alias William H. Smith. While the warden spreads a false story and a manhunt unfolds, the scene shifts to Antelope: Rory and Big Jim’s bitter feud erupts (Rory floors Big Jim in a saloon), Della becomes assistant cashier at Big Jim’s bank, and townsfolk quietly debate Tex’s fate. Tex returns unrecognized, tests the waters with Paint Pablo, then hires on at the XO‑Bar‑5 under Marvin Crane (really controlled by Big Jim), alongside Slim Whelan and the brood at the rundown ranch. Meanwhile Della receives a secret plea for money signed “Tex” via Tucson Charley; the messenger is found dead (said to be kicked by his horse), prompting Della’s alarm, and as she rides toward Pablo’s place, Tex and Slim view the body and note the “kicking” horse’s docile feet—hinting that something about the death, and the note, doesn’t add up. (This is an automatically generated summary.)