Back Home by J. Frank Davis (1916)
Captain James Carmichael, returning from secret work in Mexico for the governor of Texas, notices Andrew Miller, a white-haired, scar-lipped traveler who claims to be an English-born Argentinian visiting the United States for the first time. After Carmichael reaches San Antonio to investigate interests connected with the Tarbox Exploration and Mining Company and Mexican political friction, he sees Miller at the Hotel Bonham watching Wallace Locke and Edith Alsbury, a young couple soon to marry. Miller asks the hotel clerk about Locke, and Carmichael suspects that the supposed Argentinian may be connected with forces opposed to Locke and perhaps with the Tarbox interests. He assigns Rangers Burnham and McCampbell to follow Miller. Burnham reports that Miller knows San Antonio far too well for a first-time visitor, has made detailed inquiries into Locke’s private habits and movements, and has bought a.45 pistol. Carmichael confronts Miller in his hotel room. Miller instinctively reaches for his gun, but Carmichael strikes him down and disarms him. Once recovered, Miller reveals that he was not preparing to attack Carmichael but intended to kill himself, believing that the Ranger had recognized him and that his hidden past was about to be exposed. His real name is Martin “Red” Alsbury, and he escaped Texas twenty-two years earlier after receiving a life sentence for murder. Alsbury explains that he fled to England and then Argentina, where he prospered and acquired an interest in the Buena Ventura Mine in Mexico. Drawn back toward San Antonio because he wanted to know whether the infant daughter he had left behind was alive, he came to Texas under the name Andrew Miller. He discovers that the red-haired young woman accompanying Wallace Locke is Edith Alsbury, his daughter. He studies Locke because he wants to know whether the man is worthy of marrying her. Alsbury recounts his former conflict with John Gater, the political boss of Huevaca County, and Gater’s allies, Sheriff Aristo Coyne and the Sarran gang. Alsbury had killed several men in self-defense after they drew against him, beginning with Buck Hamilton on election day. His wife died shortly after giving birth to Edith, who was taken in by her aunt in San Antonio. Later, during a violent political struggle involving Governor Larry Beeson and Jeff Rich, Alsbury killed Bristow, a Sarran man who drew on him near the post office. Gater’s followers removed Bristow’s pistol and testified that Alsbury had murdered an unarmed, peaceable man. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. On the way to Huntsville, Alsbury escaped after bribing Deputy Sheriff Miguel Dominguez. Since then he has concealed his identity, fearing that any revelation would disgrace Edith and endanger her future with Locke. He begs Carmichael either to let him kill himself or to return him secretly to prison so that his daughter will never learn who he is. Carmichael tells him that Jeff Rich was elected governor two years after Alsbury’s escape and signed an unconditional pardon for him. Far from needing to hide or die, Alsbury is free to attend Edith’s wedding and give her away.
By J. Frank Davis · First published 1916 · Genre: Western, Crime Fiction, Mystery · 7,358 words
First lines
Captain Carmichael of the Texas Rangers does his duty and a little more.
Captain James Carmichael of the Texas Rangers, home-bound after a week in Mexico City on official secret business for the governor, let his gaze rove idly through the window of his Pullman as the train paused in the late afternoon at an unimportant Mexican hill village.
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Genres
- Western — The story is rooted in Texas Ranger culture, border-country settings, firearms, old feuds, political bosses, horse thieves, and the moral codes associated with classic Western fiction.
- Crime Fiction — Its central suspense concerns a suspected armed man with a concealed identity, a decades-old homicide conviction, an escape from custody, surveillance, and the question of guilt or innocence.
- Mystery — Captain Carmichael investigates Andrew Miller's motives and true identity, gradually uncovering that he is Martin Alsbury, an escaped prisoner with a personal connection to Edith Alsbury.
- Adventure Fiction — The narrative moves through Mexico and Texas amid political intrigue, Ranger surveillance, border travel, danger, and a confrontation involving drawn weapons.
Tags
Texas Rangers · San Antonio, Texas · Mexico–United States border · early twentieth-century Texas · Western fiction · crime and mystery · political corruption · Mexican revolutionary unrest · mining interests · corporate intrigue · hidden identity · escaped convict
What this Textopian page supports
Back Home is listed on Textopian as a short story by J. Frank Davis, dated 1916 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: J. Frank Davis
- Date: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Western, Crime Fiction, Mystery, Adventure Fiction, Historical Fiction
- Length: 7,358 words
- Structure: 1 section, 130 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Back Home by J. Frank Davis
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