In Max Brand's stories no character is either a hero or a villain, and most are mixtures of both. That is certainly the case in "The Ghost Wagon," first published in 1921. Both Lew Carney and Jack Doyle love Mary Hamilton and she has plans of her own. "Rodeo Ranch" proved one of Brand's most popular short novels when it first appeared in Western Story Magazine in 1923. "Slip Liddel" is set during the Depression and centers on a poor man's revenge. It is reminiscent of Brand's own unhappy early years as a farm and ranch laborer. "A Matter of Honor" was first published in 1921. The story has much more to do with Jim Orchard's struggles to distinguish between honor and pride than with mere horse racing.