Max Brand

"Found among a group of unpublished works by Frederick Faust, these two Western stories both deal with cowardice. In "Traynor" the title character is believed to be a weak young man, having let Dr. Parker Channing steal his love, Rose Laymon, away from him. When the stage Traynor is driving into Little Snake is robbed and Traynor's best friend and stage guard, Sam Whitney, is killed by the robber, Traynor chases the thief and recovers his dropped...

Prairie Pawn tells the story of Paul Torridon, called White Thunder by the Cheyenne Indians holding him hostage. They believe that he cured Whistling Elk's son from a menacing illness and brought rain when others had failed to do so. Though Paul has been rewarded with many riches, he still seems unhappy, and the Cheyenne chief decides to undertake a dangerous mission to kidnap Nancy Brett from Fort Kendry. The Cheyennes believe that will make White...

In "Dust Storm," Bob Lindsay is stuck in his shack in the Powder Mountains during a huge dust storm. When he finally emerges, he finds his water hole is nothing but a wallow of mud, and two-thirds of his crop has been wiped out. Now the two largest ranches in the area are ready to fight for water. Lindsay stopped the fighting once…can he do it a second time? Hugo Ames is the outlaw in "Outlaw's Pursuit" with a $15,000 bounty on his head following...

"In three western stories, men risk their hero status in the community in order for truth to prevail"--

"After serving two years in Folsom Prison, Blondy Kitchin lands in Sour Creek Valley where his brute strength gets him a job managing a ranch where he has to deal with an out of control bunch of cowboys, ruthless rustlers, and a savvy Mexican youngster he picked up in town to act as his mozo"--

"In "The White Streak," twenty-one-year-old Jimmy Babcock, a former football star, but now a worker at the local bank run by William Parker in the town of Dresser, which has changed from cattle country to one made up of oil and alfalfa fields. When Parker fires Jimmy, all Jimmy can think is how he will hurt Muriel Aiken, his fiancée, who wants to marry. When his father signs over the old family homestead to him that is in serious need of repair,...

"Two connected stories discovered among unpublished works by Frederick Faust are combined to create this western story about a young man whose fascination with tall tales told about a fictional hero causes him to make a decision that sends him down a path outside the law"--

"Peter Quince was a fighter born and bred. Orphaned at a young age, he remembered an old woman saying that he was a bad one and would cause a lot of trouble in the world. Others claimed he had bad blood and it would show up sooner or later. But Bill Andrews felt a connection with the boy, took him home and raised him as one of his own despite his wife's misgivings. Peter soon learned he could manipulate people by withholding his true feelings--showing...

Don Sebastian Valdivia and his secretary, Juan Carreño, attend a horse auction at the Garrison Ranch, where an outlaw stallion, Twilight, is held back until last. The only man who can ride this magnificent beast is Charles Dupont, known as The Crisco Kid, who has bonded with the horse since he was a colt. Because gunman Bud Carew despises The Kid, he desperately wants to possess Twilight. Those attending the auction know that no matter which one...

Master and Man: Bobbie, is a black man who can outride, outfight, and outshoot any white man in the mountain desert. His unwavering moral code serves as a model for his ofter cruel and dissolute white master. A lucky dog: A tale of desperate flight by a jewel thief named Hagger from the man he robbed. In Colorado, facing a battle with winter cold and snow, he comes upon an isolated cabin and its sole occupant, a weakened bull terrier left there to...