Virginia of V. M. Ranch

Virginia and her brother Malcolm have just inherited a sprawling desert ranch after their father’s death, and a long‑delayed letter now brings a new duty: caring for Margaret Selover, a shy girl from an eastern boarding school who was supposed to become their guardian’s ward. The siblings, both sixteen and twenty‑two, wrestle with how to fulfill their father’s wishes while respecting a girl they have never met, fearing that the desert life might be alien to her. As they ride their ponies across sun‑baked trails, they sketch a secret plan to introduce themselves without revealing their identities, hoping a gentle ruse will reveal whether Margaret could truly belong at the V.M. Ranch.

Their scheme hinges on convincing the aging overseer, Uncle Tex, to play the part of an elderly guardian, while a messenger named Rusty Pete carries a carefully worded invitation eastward. The story unfolds with witty dialogue, sibling camaraderie, and the tension of a moral dilemma set against the wide‑open wilderness. Listeners are drawn into the quiet beauty of the landscape and the tender uncertainty of opening one’s home to a stranger.