About this book
What separates a crooked trail from a straight one when hard country puts honor to the test?
In Crooked Trails and Straight, William MacLeod Raine brings you into the American frontier, a world of open country and hard riding. This Western adventure turns on the contrast in its title: crooked paths and straight ones, and the choices that give each its meaning.
Honor, outlaws, and the chance of redemption shape the book's appeal. Raine explores a frontier code that asks people to keep their word, protect the weak, and face trouble openly. The line between a decent person and an outlaw invites a closer look, beyond the simple label.
What you’ll discover
- Open country, hard riding Enter a frontier world where rough country gives adventure its grit and tests character.
- Honor under pressure Explore what it means to keep your word when the choices grow hard.
- Beyond the outlaw label Look past easy judgments to the uneasy line between law and decency.
- The pull of redemption Follow the idea of a fresh start in a world of crooked paths.
- A brisk Western spirit Enjoy Raine's plain, steady style and an old-fashioned appetite for adventure.
Who will love it
Readers who love Westerns with quick plots, cool-headed rangers, outlaws with grudges and young love on the range, and who enjoy a story where loyalty and second chances matter as much as gunplay.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A drunken lark becomes a crime
- Tragedy at the Circle C
- Bail, a debt and a promise
- Life among the outlaws
- Listening at the wall
- Fame, friendship and a quiet love
- A robbery, a hat and a vanishing
- Clues in a hat and a cellar
- A captive, a feud and a lesson
Who’s who
- Curly FlandrauA reckless young cowhand and champion bronco rider who falls into crime and then works to repay the kindness of the Cullisons.
- Kate CullisonThe brave, quick-minded daughter of Luck Cullison who saves Curly from a lynching and fights to find her missing father.
- Luck CullisonA famous former sheriff and owner of the Circle C ranch, short of money and facing a sheepman's growing feud.
- Sam CullisonKate's wild young brother, who has left home and fallen under the influence of the outlaw Soapy Stone.
- Soapy StoneA cold, skilled outlaw who plots a train holdup and wants revenge on Luck Cullison by ruining his son.
- Dick MaloneyA steady Bar Double M rider with a dry wit who becomes Curly's loyal friend and helper.
- Cass FendrickA proud, sardonic sheepman who clashes with Luck over water and range, and who is drawn to Kate.
- Bucky O'ConnorA shrewd lieutenant of the Arizona Rangers who hunts down criminals with patience and humor.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 5 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Caminos torcidos y rectos
by William MacLeod Raine · 1913
Curly Flandrau steals horses on a drunken spree, then must save the family of the man he shot.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A young cowhand sells stolen horses after a drunken spree and wakes up a horse thief before he is twenty-two. Crooked Trails and Straight, a Western by William MacLeod Raine, is set in the dusty cattle country of southern Arizona in the early twentieth century.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A drunken lark becomes a crime
Curly Flandrau drives a herd of horses into Saguache with three companions. They sell the horses to a buyer named Warren, who pays only a third of their worth. Curly meets his old friend Slats Davis and hides the theft from him.
At dawn Slats warns him that the Bar Double M men are in town asking for Curly. Slats helps him slip out through the kitchen, but his cold look tells Curly he has lost a friend.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 5 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- Español
- Level
- Medium level
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Caminos torcidos y rectos
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Crooked Trails and Straight about?
It tells of Curly Flandrau, a young cowhand who joins a horse-stealing scheme, is nearly lynched, and is saved by Kate Cullison. He then tries to repay her family by rescuing her brother and father from outlaws and a sheepman.
Who is Soapy Stone in Crooked Trails and Straight?
Soapy Stone is a cold, skilled outlaw who runs a horse ranch in the hills. He holds a grudge against Luck Cullison for sending him to prison, and he plots a train holdup to ruin Luck's son Sam.
Where and when is Crooked Trails and Straight set?
The story is set in southern Arizona in the early twentieth century, in ranch country around the town of Saguache. Telephones, trains, rangers and movies appear alongside cattle drives, poker games and bronco contests.
More by William MacLeod Raine
All 5 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing





















