A Perfect Gentleman by Mark Price
"A Perfect Gentleman" by Mark Price is a comic Western tale narrated by a young drifter who rides into the town of Oakwood under an assumed name, "Joe Smith," concealing his true identity as Trigger Caswell, a notorious card sharp and gunslinger being hunted by vigilantes for shooting his way out of Union City. To catch the eye of a beautiful young woman, Carol Hoyt, he stages a fake fall from his trick pony, Henry, and wins her sympathy. Mistaking his silence and restraint for virtue, Carol declares him the first true gentleman she has ever met and confides that her ideal man must never flirt, gamble, drink, swear, or fight under any circumstances. Smitten, Joe resolves to live up to this impossible standard, even as he discovers that Carol is being persecuted by Hal Spencer, the crooked, mustachioed boss of the local gambling hall. Spencer produces a forged promissory note to seize Carol's late father's store, installs himself as her overseer, and repeatedly forces his attentions on her, all while Joe stands by helplessly, restrained by his vow of perfect gentility even as mockers in the saloon brand him a coward. The strain of suppressing his true nature builds until Joe, unable to bear watching Carol suffer any longer, abandons his pretense: he sits in on a rigged poker game at Spencer's hall, out-cheats the cheaters, wins over two thousand dollars, and shoots three of Spencer's armed men in the resulting gunfight when they try to renege. He then storms to the store, thrashes Spencer in a wrecking, cans-and-flour brawl that sends the gambler crashing through the front window, and hands Carol the winnings as payment for her stolen store. Just as the marshal arrives to arrest him, an old acquaintance rides up and greets him by his real name, revealing him to the town as Trigger Caswell—clearing him of blame, since the marshal has no actual charges against the notorious gunman himself, only against "Joe Smith." Certain that his violent, lawless true self has now disqualified him forever in Carol's eyes, Joe prepares to escort her out of Oakwood to the railroad at the county seat, intending to part from her forever. During the ride, with Carol seated before him on his horse, he confesses his real name and his history of gambling and gunplay, apologizing for the deception and resigning himself to losing her. To his astonishment, Carol reveals that he misunderstood her all along: her true ideal was never a passive milquetoast but a man strong and capable enough to hold his own at gambling, fighting, or anything else—she never actually said otherwise. Relieved and overjoyed, Joe declares his love, Carol confesses hers in return, and the two ride on together to the county seat, where they marry. The story closes on the gentle irony that Carol's supposed "perfect gentleman" was a misreading from the start, and that what she actually wanted—and got—was the unreformed, quick-shooting, hard-gambling Trigger Caswell himself.
By Mark Price · First published 1929 · Genre: Western, Romance, Romantic Comedy · 5,975 words
First lines
What Is a Hard-boiled Two-gun Westerner To Do When the Girl of His Dreams Takes Him For a Perfect Gentleman?
As I rode toward Oakwood three hombres popped up from behind a rock and stuck their guns under my nose. I stopped and says: "It's a fine day, gents."
What this Textopian page supports
A Perfect Gentleman is listed on Textopian as a short story by Mark Price, dated 1929 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Mark Price
- Date: 1929 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Western, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Action/Adventure, Pulp Fiction
- Length: 5,975 words
- Structure: 1 section, 134 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Perfect Gentleman by Mark Price
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Western — Quintessential Western setting in a frontier town with gunslinger protagonist, cowboy vernacular, gambling halls, horses, gunfights, sheriffs, and moral conflicts central to the Western genre.
- Romance — Central narrative arc revolves around Joe's love for Carol and his efforts to win her heart despite obstacles; the resolution is their romantic union and marriage.
- Romantic Comedy — Significant comedic elements drive the plot: Joe's absurd masquerade as a gentleman while being a hardened gunslinger, misunderstandings with Carol about what she actually wants, and witty first-person narration.
- Action/Adventure — Multiple action sequences including gunfight at the gambling hall, brawl with Spencer, confrontation with marshal, and Joe's internal struggle between violent instinct and gentlemanly restraint.
Tags
fiction · historical fiction · literary fiction · British literature · period drama · society · class · manners · romance · relationships · family · secrets