What’s that western?

October 25, 2022 2:12 PM

Help me find a book! This ask is a stretch. Details of the book: found at a thrift store in Montana, cloth bound, dusty and yellowed. The plot: I only got a few chapters in, but the things I remember were that the main character was a single cowboy on a working ranch, and the first plot point was that he received a wedding invitation from an old friend or brother. It was told in the first person I think. The memorably bit: he used “dearly beloved!” as a curse. It WAS NOT a Louis L’amour novel. I know that I’ve described 95% of westerns out there, but I hope the “dearly beloved!” but will ring a bell with someone. Thanks!
posted by Grandysaur to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

Best answer: Clarence Edward Mulford's The Man from Bar-20?

Ever since he had listened to the marriage ceremony which had subjugated his friend Hopalong for the rest of that man's natural life, the phrase "Dearly Beloved" had stuck in his memory; and in his use of it the words took the place of humorous profanity.

posted by offog at 2:41 PM on October 25, 2022 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: my word.
posted by Grandysaur at 7:58 PM on October 25, 2022 [5 favorites]