This story, by Stephen Payne, originally appeared in the October 1949 issue of Golden West Romances. It's a light but fun piece of reading -- don't be turned off just because it appeared in a romance magazine.
The "Team Work" comes from two characters -- Flying M ranch owner Tom Mayburn and dude-ranch running June Addison -- who initially are at odds, thanks to Lawson L. Lawrence. If you've ever watched the TV show Green Acres and know the character of Mister Haney (played by actor Pat Buttram), you'll recognize Lawrence: He owns the ranch adjoining Mayburn's property, and Lawrence wants the Flying M's owner to buy his property. Lawrence has leased his run-down land to June for the dude ranch, knowing this will aggravate Mayburn to the point of paying Lawrence's asking price -- which is far and away over what Mayburn is willing to offer.
Once Mayburn realizes that June is also in a no-win situation, he reveals to her what he knows of Lawson's plots, and the two put their heads together to beat Lawson at his own game.
The story is short, well-written, light fare. A nice change of pace from rustlers, gun play, and corrupt sheriffs.
You can find "Team Work" at Larry Estep's PulpGen site. Click here to visit.
Posted by ds at October 23, 2002 04:17 PM
