Destry Rides Again

Destry Rides Again is a 1930 western novel by Max Brand. One of Brand's most famous works, it remained in print 70 years after its first publication. It is the story of Harrison Destry's quest for revenge against the 12 jurors whose personal malice leads them to wrongfully convict him of robbery. Plot summary Harrison Destry, a man who thinks he is better than anyone else and is constantly "proving" it by his skill with a gun, and his ability to win fistfights he provokes, has just lost his horse and his saddle in a card game. (A cowboy who loses his saddle loses the respect of other cowboys.) He has few friends and many enemies (most of whom he created) in his home town of Wham, Texas. But the teenage Charlotte Dangerfield, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, adores him. Only one of the men Destry has beaten in a fight, Chester Bent, seems to bear him no ill-will; Bent stakes the penniless Destry $100. But Bent has just robbed the Express, and (when the wind blows Destry's jacket open) slips cash from the robbery into Destry's pocket. Knowing Destry's character, Bent expects he will waste the money on liquor and gambling, rather than replacing his horse and saddle. This is indeed what happens, and Destry becomes the prime suspect, the planted cash being all but proof of his guilt. Failing to comprehend how much trouble he is in, Destry neglects his defense and is stunned when convicted by a jury stacked with his enemies, who ignore the fact that the robber's description bears no relation whatever to Destry. He is sentenced to 10 years and swears to wreak vengeance on the jurors. Only Charlotte believes Destry is not guilty.