This volume of Max Brand’s short fiction is chock full of the fast paced, deftly plotted stories that made Brand famous. “Cayenne Charlie” tells the story of Charlie Bird, a redheaded cowpoke
so accustomed to trouble he treats jail like a hotel. “The Bells of San Carlos” introduces Fray Luis, a most formidable member of the clergy. The novella “Between One and Three” is part
Western, part mystery, a story of counterfeiters who elude detection. “The Gift” features Happy Jack, one of Brand’s most fascinating characters. Happy Jack is on the trail of Sandy Crisp,
whose crimes include shooting one of Jack’s friends.
The Bells of San Carlos and Other Stories offers stories and novellas long out of print or never printed in their entirety. At first publication, the stories often suffered from
editors’ cuts to make them fit available page space. Editor Jon Tuska has returned to the original manuscripts to restore Brand’s full texts.
