A perfect gentleman

A perfect gentleman by Mark Price is a Western short story written in the early 20th century. The story follows a tough cowboy-gambler who tries to live up to a young woman’s ideal of a “perfect gentleman” while facing down a crooked saloon boss in a frontier town.

A wandering gun-hand rides into Oakwood, falls for shopkeeper Carol Hoyt, and hides his identity as Trigger Caswell by calling himself Joe Smith. To please her stated ideal of a mild, non-fighting gentleman, he swallows insults and holds back even as Hal Spencer, a crooked gambler, forges a debt to seize her store and threatens to force her into marriage. When Spencer goes too far, the drifter decides to act: he outplays the house at poker, shoots his way clear when they try to rob him, then thrashes Spencer in a savage fistfight and hands Carol the winnings to reclaim her store. Exposed as Trigger but spared by the intimidated law, he rides with Carol to safety, confesses the truth, and learns she values strength and bravery after all; they admit their love and head to the county seat to be married.