Hawks and Eagles
by Max Brand

Hawks and Eagles: Though constantly dodging bullets, Joe Good refuses to carry a gun. His weapon of choice: a supple blacksnake whip capable of splitting a hair or slicing open a wide gash of flesh with just a deft flick of his wrist. Using all the skill and cunning at his disposal, Joe plans to take out the ranchers who killed his father, one by one. But the Altons are a powerful family who own most of the land—and the men—around Fort Willow. If Joe doesn't act fast, he won't live to see his vengeance.

Black Snake and Gun: this, the second story in the Joe Good trilogy, appeared two weeks after "Hawks and Eagles" in the December 19, 1931, issue of Street & Smith's Western Story Magazine. Again, it was published under Faust's George Owen Baxter pseudonym. In "Black Snake and Gun" Hugh Alton, the man responsible for Good's father's death, is awaiting trial, for which Good will be a star witness. A new nemesis for Good is supplied when Alton hires Wally Chase's friend, Charley Martin, who is even deadlier with a gun than Chase once was. The drama plays ut in Martin's own hole-in-the-wall country where Good's only friends are the Garnets.

Black-Snake Joe: The third story in the Joe Good trilogy appeared in the January 2, 1932, issue of Street & Smith's Western Story Magazine. "Black-Snake Joe" picks up with Alton still awaiting trial but even more desperate to eliminate Good who has destroyed and taken over his position of admiration and power in the community. Good's developing friendship with Budge Morrissey, his servant and protector, figures prominently in the story when Morrissey is kidnapped.