02358cam a22003613u 4500 76839 UtSlPG 20260610134759.0 m cr n 260607r20251925utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Humphreys, Ray A knife in time Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Produced from the November 7, 1925 issue of Western Story Magazine. Release date is 2025-09-08 Roger Frank and Sue Clark 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.) Originally published: New York: Street & Smith Corporation, 1925 Short stories Western stories Muleteers -- Fiction Produced from the November 7, 1925 issue of Western Story Magazine. https://archive.org/details/western-story-magazine-v-056-n-02-1925-11-07 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76839 117564 117564