A Notched Gun by Walt Coburn (1935)
Sam Graybull, a feared outlaw and killer, robs the Valley Bank during a blizzard, murdering the teller and cashier before escaping with a sack of currency. Proud of the six notches on his Colt’s bone handle, he rides through the storm toward his hidden Bad Lands cabin, intending to drink, hide, and later visit his only friends, Pete Peralta and Pete’s wife Rose. After reaching his cabin, caring for his exhausted horse, and drinking heavily, Sam crosses the river to the Peraltas’ home. He finds Pete crippled by a broken leg and Rose in agonized labor, with no doctor nearby. Though Sam knows nothing of childbirth and has little history of mercy, he recognizes that Rose will die without help. He gives Pete and Rose whisky, has Pete write a desperate note to the doctor, and rides out through the winter night to fetch help. He also stops at a Long X line camp for food and sends a cowpuncher to look after the Peraltas. Weak from cold, exhaustion, drink, and lack of sleep, Sam rides toward town with the doctor’s note tied around his neck. On the road he meets a posse hunting him. Instead of surrendering, he drinks, taunts them, and charges with his carbine. His horse is shot, trapping his leg beneath it, but Sam continues firing, wounds two posse members, and fights with his Colt until he is shot dead. The sheriff finds the doctor’s note and realizes that Sam had been riding back deliberately to save Rose Peralta. In a postscript, Sam reveals where the stolen bank money is hidden and directs that any bounty on him be given to Pete Peralta, with the child named Graybull if it is a boy and educated with the bounty money. Doc Steele delivers Rose’s son, Graybull Peralta. Years later, Graybull Peralta becomes Captain Graybull Peralta, a fighting chaplain in a division of men from the cow country. He is killed in the Argonne with a blood-soaked Bible in his pocket and Sam Graybull’s old bone-handled six-gun, still marked with six notches, in his hand. Major Steele, who had found Sam’s body years before, orders the dead captain handled gently and remembers the outlaw whose one decent act made the chaplain’s life possible.
By Walt Coburn · First published 1935 · Genre: Western, Historical Fiction, Short Story · 3 chapters · 4,545 words
First lines
Walt Coburn gives us a moving little story that swings a dramatic arc from the Old West to the battlefields of France.
Sam Graybull was a killer. He proved it now as he backed slowly out of the Valley Bank with a smoking Colt in one hand and a gunnysack full of currency in the other. The teller had made a move for the automatic below the money counter. Sam Graybull's bullet had caught the unfortunate man between the eyes.
Similar titles
- The Man Who Hated Himself by Walt Coburn
- Horses by Stephen Crane
- A Man And Some Others by Stephen Crane
- A Baffled Ambuscade by Ambrose Bierce
- The Drums Of The Fore And Aft by Rudyard Kipling
- In Bad Company by Rolf Boldrewood
Genres
- Western — The story is rooted in the American Old West, featuring an outlaw, bank robbery, posses, ranchers, horses, frontier settlements, harsh winter travel, and the moral codes of range life.
- Historical Fiction — Its action spans recognizable historical settings and eras, moving from frontier Montana and the Bad Lands to the First World War battlefields of France.
- Short Story — The work is a compact, self-contained narrative centered on Sam Graybull's final journey, moral decision, death, and legacy.
- Adventure Fiction — The plot emphasizes dangerous travel through a blizzard, wilderness survival, a desperate ride for medical help, and an armed confrontation with a posse.
Tags
Western fiction · Old West · Montana Badlands · Milk River country · blizzard · bank robbery · outlaw protagonist · gunfighter · posse pursuit · redemption · sacrifice · moral transformation
What this Textopian page supports
A Notched Gun is listed on Textopian as a short story by Walt Coburn, dated 1935 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Walt Coburn
- Date: 1935 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Western, Historical Fiction, Short Story, Adventure Fiction, Crime Fiction
- Length: 4,545 words
- Structure: 3 chapters, 93 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Notched Gun by Walt Coburn
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph