The running iron A western story

Descended from Revolutionary War patriot and pamphleteer Thomas Paine, Lauran Paine is said to have authored some 900 books under his own name and a handful of pseudonyms. His eighth Five Star western concerns the battles of the Jessup family--specifically, old Joe Jessup's Pawnee widow, May, and her son, Young Joe--to hang on to the Lazy J ranch. On one hand, a less-than-honest banker is trying to get May to sign the ranch over to him as payment of a debt that no longer exists and, on the other, neighboring ranchers have been stealing Jessup cattle by altering the Lazy J brand with the running iron that gives Paine his title. There's also a plan afoot to use the army to flush out the `up yonder' Indians, May's tribesmen, who live in the nearby hills and often help the Jessups work their stock. An entertaining underdog story about winning against seemingly insurmountable odds. --Budd Arthur Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews