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Part One - Issue 978, September 12th 1970:
THE weekly payroll for the large engineering works on the edge of the New Forest in
southern England leaves the bank in an armoured security van.
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
The weekly payroll for a large engineering works on the edge of the New Forest is leaving a bank in an armoured security van. As the van reaches an open stretch of road it comes across a bunch of men dressed as cowboys who are having a rodeo in the middle of the highway. The security guards are caught off their guard when the cowboys pull guns on them and steal the money. They head off into the New Forest. The next day Steed reads the headlines and is amused that they got away with it. Then, the phone rings. It’s Mother. The plans of a top secret missile have been stolen from Davenley, the thieves used old fashioned sticks of dynamite on the safe and the area is covered in horses’ hoof prints…
Part Two - Issue 979, September 19th 1970:
JOHN STEED and Tara get a call from Mother telling them some plans
of a secret missile have been stolen from a research centre at Davenly, Hampshire...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Steed and Tara travel to Davenley, where they find the evidence described by Mother. They follow the trail of hoof prints, but when they reach the tarmac road, the trail goes cold. There is a poster attached to a telegraph pole advertising The Lazy ‘J’ Western Style Dude Ranch Holiday Camp. Steed and Tara decide that they need a holiday. As they drive through the gates of the ranch they are greeted by several men on horseback brandishing rifles who order them to stop.
Part Three - Issue 980, September 26th 1970:
WHEN plans of a secret missile are stolen, Steed and Tara connect the raid with a recent
wages snatch by men masquerading as Wild West desperadoes. Their investigations lead
them to the 'Lazy J', a western style dude ranch for holidaymakers. But as they
approach the place...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Tara tells the men that they want to spend a few days at the ranch. They explain that they always put on a bit of a show for new arrivals. Steed thanks them and asks to see the ‘big gun’. They are introduced to Jake Cody, the owner of the ranch. He mocks Steed for the ‘big city’ way he is dressed and asks if he is going to change into cowboy clothes or risk the ribbing.
Steed and Tara are shown to the hotel. Steed tells Tara that if these men did carry out the security van raid it is a little out of character to start switching to stealing government secrets. They suspect that somebody has put them up to it and decide to keep an eye on the other guests. Steed takes a stroll that evening. He heads for the bank, but he is distracted by Tara who calls him over to the saloon where two men are having a gunfight.
Part
Four - Issue 981, October 3rd 1970:
STEED and Tara connect the theft of secret plans with a wages snatch by men dressed as
cowboys from the 'Lazy J', a western style dude ranch for holidaymakers. As Steed
plans to break into the bank, Tara calls him to the saloon....
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Steed grabs the gun of the man who is about to win the fight and tells him that that’s not the way things are done in Britain. It turns out to be a staged fight put on for the benefit of the visitors. Steed and Tara compare notes and come to the conclusion that none of the visitors look particularly suspicious. Steed continues over to the bank. He picks the lock and walks in to find an empty shell.
Part Five - Issue 982, October 10th 1970:
SECRET missile plans are stolen and Steed and Tara suspect a group of men who run a Wild
West style ranch for holiday makers in the New Forest. John Steed breaks into their
imposing bank building only to find...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Outside the bank, Steed can hear excited shouts. It seems to be a little late to be going for a horseback ride. He suspects that the men are off on another raid as they gallop off at high speed. He runs to the garage to use his car to follow them, but finds that they have taken the wheels off it. In the stables he finds that they have left a horse behind, already saddled for use. As Steed climbs on it rears up. They have left behind the bucking bronco they use in the rodeo.
Part Six - Issue 983, October 17th 1970:
INVESTIGATING the theft of secret missile plans, John Steed and Tara suspect a group
of men who run a wild west style ranch for holiday-makers. Steed hears the men ride
off at night and tries to follow on horseback.
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Steed is being thrown around by the horse in the middle of the street. Tara and several of the other guests come out to watch. Eventually he is bucked off the horse. Steed tells Tara about the riders galloping off and she tells him that there are other horses they can use. They ride off together and soon they can see the cowboys in the distance. Suddenly they are yanked from their mounts by a large rope.
Part Seven - Issue 984, October 24th 1970:
SECRET missile plans are stolen and Steed and Tara suspect a group of men who run a Wild
West style ranch for holidaymakers. Steed hears the men ride off at night and, with
Tara, gallops after them. But...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Steed and Tara have fallen victim to an old trick, the rope stretched across the trail. Their horses have taken off, back to the Ranch, and Steed and Tara have lost sight of the cowboys. However, they are nearer than the duo think, as Cody and another cowboy wait behind a rock just above them. Cody says that after they have taken care of the night’s work they must deal with Steed in the Morning. As Steed and Tara head back towards the ranch they see a sudden flash of headlights and hide in the undergrowth. It is a limousine. A man gets out and starts to change into cowboy clothes. Steed recognises him as Boris Patervitch, one of the East’s top agents.
Part Eight - Issue 985, October 31st 1970
INVESTIGATING the theft of some secret missile plans, John Steed and Tara
King are following a gang of men who run a Wild West style ranch for holiday-makers when
they are knocked from their horses. Then they see the familiar figure of one of the
East's top secret agents...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Steed reckons Boris Patervitch has arrived to pick up the top secret plans stolen from Davenley. They realise that because he is dressed as a cowboy he is planning to stay for a while. This will give them more time to get the plans before he does, and catch the whole gang together.
They return to the Ranch and Steed observes Cody and his men returning together. He overhears them plan to get the stuff to the stage now and to deal with Steed and Ms. King later when things are in place. Steed wonders what they mean by ‘the stage’, but then the penny drops and he realises that they mean a stagecoach.
The next day, Steed and Tara leave the hotel and see Cody over the road telling the other guests about the day’s entertainment. They realise this is their chance to check out the buildings behind main street and inspect all the stagecoaches. They find a building full of stagecoaches, but Tara gets the feeling they are being watched. They look up and see armed men sitting in one of the stagecoaches observing their every move.
Part Nine - Issue 986, November 7th 1970
JOHN STEED and Tara believe that the arrival of a foreign spy at a wild
west style ranch in Hampshire proves the owners of the ranch possess stolen
plans. Steed thinks a stage-coach conceals the documents, but they find two
coaches. Tara senses they are being watched.
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Part Ten - Issue 987, November 14th 1970
TRYING to find some stolen secret plans, Tara and Steed search the wrong
stage coach and find themselves part of a wild west spectacle on a ranch for
holidaymakers. Driverless, the coach careers down a hill with dynamite aboard...
Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.
Tara and Steed leap out of the speeding stagecoach as it is about to explode. They fall into the water and return to the Ranch cold and wet. Cody is waiting when they do. He tells them to hurry up as there is a fancy dress party in the saloon in half an hour. Their costumes are in their rooms. Cody tells one of his lackeys that the bullets in his gun will be live, those in Steed’s gun will be blanks. He’ll tell the law that it was all an accident, he put the live ammo in his gun by mistake. Steed and Tara enter the saloon wearing the Wild West costumes that have been chosen for them. Cody reaches for his weapon and suggests Steed does the same.
Part Eleven - Issue 988, November 21st 1970
Full details are not available for this issue.
Written by unknown, drawn by unknown.
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