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Margaret Conover
Rooster, whose real name is Orville Stubbs, is a part-time deputy in Red Lake who says Lily must ride his ornery mustang, Red Devil, before receiving her first paycheck. Lily breaks the horse easily, shocking and impressing Rooster. Rooster asks Lily to teach him to read and write, and the two become friends; Lily considers him likable despite his habit of swallowing chewing tobacco. He encourages Lily to enter Red Devil in local races. Rooster introduces Lily to Jim at once such race, and later serves as the best man at their wedding. He also helps bury Helen.
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Rooster Character Timeline in Half Broke Horses
The timeline below shows where the character Rooster appears in Half Broke Horses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...to pick up her first paycheck, a couple of local deputies, including a man called Rooster, tell her she needs to ride the ornery mustang in the neighboring corral. Lily knows...
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...Lily breaking the mustang, and her help with horses becomes sought after in Red Lake. Rooster follows her around like a faithful sidekick and encourages Lily to enter the mustang, named...
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...back on and finishes the race anyway. This impresses a man named Jim Smith, who Rooster says owns the town’s new garage. Jim says he can teach Lily to drive.
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...Lily bury Helen in the Catholic cemetery because suicide is a sin. Lily, Jim, and Rooster bury Helen at the top of a hill in Lily’s red silk shirt. Lily believes...
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Chapter 5
Jim and Lily marry in the classroom once school is out for the summer, with Rooster as Jim’s best man. Despite feeling as though she has gotten a late start marrying...
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