Fighting Man: A Western Duo

Hate in His Holster is the story of Dave Lanning, an orphan rescued by Bert Haney, ramrod of the YT ranch in Sunfisher, Nebraska. But Haney is old and ailing, and the YT is beset by problems, most of them spearheaded by Justin Tucker, who has been gathering homesteaders with the intention of moving onto YT range. Lanning is determined to protect the YT from incursion, but is taken aback when the new owner arrives, a woman who does not understand why the ranch hasn’t been making the kind of profit it used to make and is determined to make some changes.

In Fighting Man, Tully Bain returns after a three-year absence to assume his half ownership in the Broken Bell. He hopes this time to renew his courtship of Beth Carradine. But Bain finds that much has changed. Sheriff Bob Hoven has been beaten up and lives in hiding. Rock and Pete Knapp of the Box K are making trouble for other ranchers, and there have been five murders. Judge Carradine, Beth’s father, holds mortgages on a number of ranches, including the Broken Bell, and intends to foreclose. Perhaps the change that means the most to Tully Bain is that now Beth Carradine wants to marry him, in spite of her father’s intention that she should marry Pete Knapp of the Box K.