Penny of Top Hill Trail

In Short

Belle Kanaris Maniates's 1919 novel Penny of Top Hill Trail is a lighthearted Western romance centered on Penny Lamont, a spirited woman mistaken for a fugitive thief by Kurt Walters, an acting sheriff in the Western hills. Brought to the welcoming Top Hill ranch to be reformed, Penny delights in the deception, keeping her true identity as a famous, high-earning motion picture star secret. The novel has endured as a charming period piece that blends Western tropes, early cinema culture, and romantic comedy.

The Story

The narrative opens with Jo, a young cow-puncher fresh from a trip to Chicago, returning to his home ranch at Top Hill. Soon after, Kurt Walters, a stern, austere cattleman serving as temporary acting sheriff, encounters a young woman along the trail. Believing her to be a destitute city girl and petty thief fleeing from a local lawman named Bender, Kurt resolves to give her a chance at redemption. Rather than locking her up, he escorts her to Top Hill, the hospitable ranch home of Louis and Margaret Kingdon.

The young woman introduces herself as Pen Lamont. Though she drops mysterious hints about her past and claims to be "worse than a thief" and a liar, she embraces the safety and luxury of Top Hill. The ranch owners and hands treat her like family. While Kurt hopes she will settle down into a quiet "house-woman," Pen thrives on adventure, bonding with the ranch hands, joining in local dances, and driving Kingdon’s high-powered racing car at breakneck speeds across the hills.

Complications multiply when another woman, Bobbie Burr, arrives in the area. Bobbie is actually Marta, a former dance-hall girl and real fugitive thief whom Jo had fallen in love with in Chicago. Marta fled from Jo out of guilt over her past, but she is brought to Top Hill under an assumed name to work as a seamstress. When Hebler, a detective tracking Marta, leaves a valuable diamond ring unattended, the ring vanishes. To protect Marta from arrest and give her a chance at happiness with Jo, Pen deliberately takes the blame for the missing ring and slips away from the ranch.

Pen escapes with the help of her brother, Larry, an aviator who whisks her away in an airplane to a nearby country inn. Left behind at the ranch, Kurt receives a bulky manuscript Pen left for him. Shortly after, Kurt attends a movie showing in town and is stunned to see Pen’s face on the silver screen in a film called The Thief. Reading her long letter, Kurt learns the truth: Pen was never a criminal. Born into a theatrical family and raised in the theater, she became a famous, highly paid film actress named Bobbie Burr. She had taken a vacation incognito under her real name, Pen Lamont, to recover her health, and she had playfully allowed Kurt to believe she was a crook.

Kurt pursues Pen to her hideout. Though overjoyed to learn she is innocent, he hesitates to marry her, feeling an impoverished ranch foreman cannot ask a wealthy movie star into marriage. Pen quickly dismantles his pride, proposing that she buy the neighboring Westcott ranch so they can run it together. Halting the car by the same clump of trees where they first camped on the trail, Pen confesses her love, and Kurt joyfully accepts her.

How It Unfolds

An arrest on the trail Kurt Walters, acting as county sheriff, takes a young woman into custody under the belief that she is a petty thief fleeing the law. Intending to give her a chance at reformation rather than jail, he drives her up the long hill road toward the shelter of Top Hill ranch.

Settling into clover Arriving at the Kingdon homestead, Pen Lamont is welcomed warmly by Margaret Kingdon and given food, rest, and clean clothes. She revels in the comfort of the ranch while playfully teasing her stern captor, who departs for a week to handle official court business in town.

Life on the ranch Pen delights the ranch hands by joining in their evening dances and speeding through the hills in Louis Kingdon's racing automobile. When Kurt returns, he urges her to stay away from the men and become a quiet house-woman, but Pen continues her spirited, independent lifestyle.

A dramatic rescue When young Francis Kingdon loses control of a runaway horse, Pen courageously steps out onto the running board of the moving racing car driven by a ranch hand and snatches the boy to safety, earning Kurt’s deep admiration.

Secrets and swap The arrival of Bobbie Burr—a quiet seamstress who is actually Marta, a former dance-hall girl fleeing her past—threatens to expose old secrets. Pen orchestrates a reunion between Marta and Jo, the cowboy who loves her, helping Marta realize she deserves a fresh start.

Taking the fall When a visiting detective's diamond ring disappears, Pen falsely confesses to the theft to protect Marta from being sent to prison. She leaves behind a sealed manuscript for Kurt and flees the ranch by airplane with her aviator brother, Larry.

The truth revealed Kurt watches a moving picture in town and recognizes Pen starring as "The Thief." Upon reading her manuscript, he learns she is actually a famous, highly paid film actress who was merely resting her health and playing along with his mistaken arrest.

Reunion at the trees Kurt tracks Pen down to a countryside inn, where his pride initially stops him from proposing to a wealthy star. Pen orchestrates a stop at their original trail campsite, declares her love, and clears the final hurdle to their marriage.

The People

• Pen Lamont (Penny / Bobbie Burr): A spirited, adventurous woman raised in the theater who became a famous movie actress. Seeking rest after an illness, she travels incognito to the Western hills. When mistaken for a thief, she cheerfully plays along with the mix-up, eventually risking her own reputation to protect a vulnerable friend. She wants freedom and true love, which she finds in Kurt.
• Kurt Walters ("Kind Kurt"): A lean, resolute cattleman and ranch foreman serving as temporary county sheriff. Serious, dutiful, and traditional, he wants to reform the mysterious girl he arrests and turn her into a gentle "house-woman." His rigid notions of duty and pride are thoroughly shaken by Pen's unyielding independence and secret wealth.
• Jo: A cheerful, optimistic young cow-puncher at Top Hill. He falls deeply in love with Marta in Chicago and never loses faith in her, wanting only to build a life with her regardless of her troubled past.
• Marta (Bobbie Burr): A gentle woman driven to petty crime and dance-hall life by childhood hardship. She wants to be straight and honest, but fears her past will ruin Jo's life until Pen and Jo convince her that she is worthy of love.
• Louis and Margaret Kingdon: The generous owners of Top Hill ranch who open their home to strays, providing the warm, stable environment where Pen and Marta find refuge.

In Its Own Voice

"You're the only nice sheriff man that ever run me in." Pen teases Kurt while resting under a shady tree on their initial journey up the trail to the ranch.

"He found me," she told Mrs. Kingdon, "in the custody of--Bender, for stealing, and he took me away to save me from jail, to bring me up here to the 'best woman in the world,' he said, and I made light of what he had done all the way up the trail." Pen impulsively confesses her apparent criminal status on the doorstep of Top Hill before being ushered inside.

"I hit this trail more to escape him than anything else. What is he here for?" Pen speaks to her brother Larry in town after spotting a detective who might uncover her hidden identity.

What It's Really About

Beneath its romantic Western plot, Penny of Top Hill Trail explores the deceptive nature of surface appearances and social labels. The book contrasts the rigid judgments of society—which easily brand an unfortunate person as a permanent "thief"—with the redemptive power of trust and second chances. Through the parallel stories of Pen and Marta, the narrative examines how social class and background shape people's expectations of one another. It also reflects the cultural shift of the late 1910s, contrasting traditional Western ideals of quiet domesticity against the emerging era of modern, independent women, fast automobiles, aviation, and the glamour of early cinema.

Why Read It Today

Penny of Top Hill Trail offers a breezy, entertaining glimpse into American popular fiction from the end of the Silent Film era. Readers who enjoy lighthearted romance, cozy mysteries, and classic Western settings will find much to appreciate in Maniates's upbeat storytelling and rapid pacing.

The novel moves at a swift clip, driven by lively dialogue, dramatic coincidences, and early 20th-century technology like racing automobiles and biplanes. While modern readers may notice period attitudes regarding traditional gender roles—such as Kurt's desire for a "house-woman"—the book balances this with Pen's unapologetic agency, driving skills, and financial independence. The slang of the 1910s ("jail jitney," "two-spot," "gink") gives the dialogue an authentic period flavor without hindering readability. It remains a charming, optimistic comfort read about mistaken identities, loyalty, and love on the range.