The Hawk #3

A man is framed for murder in Red City when the town's ruthless vigilante leader, Catlett, guns down a friend and plants the evidence on an innocent bystander—but the Hawk arrives just in time to stop a lynch mob and uncover the truth. As the Hawk pursues Catlett into the desert, a discarded stogie becomes the smoking gun that proves who really killed the victim and reveals why this murder was committed in the first place. Justice comes at last, but only because a dead man's cry for help reached the right ears.

Federal Marshal Bob Hardie, known as the Hawk, must stop the ruthless outlaw Charlie Leverett and his cunning partner Mamie Temple from inciting Apache raids on Army supply trains across the New Mexican desert. When a mysterious note lures the Hawk into a trap, he discovers Mamie's true ambitions—and Leverett's violent response—setting the stage for a desperate pursuit that will determine who controls the territory.

This non-fiction feature explores the wildlife of the American Southwest, detailing the habits and characteristics of creatures like the rattlesnake, Gila monster, armadillo, horned-toad, prairie dog, and road runner. Readers learn surprising facts about these desert inhabitants—from how rattlers grow new rattles with each shed skin to why prairie dog burrows pose such a hazard to mounted riders. A straightforward and informative look at the fauna that share the Western Badlands.

When Dusty Carson discovers his friend Art Lane, the deputy sheriff, murdered by a cowardly bushwhacker known as the Driftin' Kid, he sets out across the desert to track down the killer—but not through a straight chase. Dusty devises a cunning trap, using the harsh landscape itself and his faithful burro Mickey as bait to corner his quarry. In this tense 1952 western tale, the Desert Rat's patience and wits will be tested against a desperate, cornered man with nothing left to lose.

Stumpy Bunyan, the laziest sheriff in town, would rather sleep than work—but when the president of Mudgeville National Bank warns of safe-blowing criminals on the loose, duty calls, and Stumpy's forced to protect eight dollars from a gang of determined robbers. This 1952 humor tale from The Hawk spins a tall tale of a slumbering lawman and the bumbling crooks who underestimate him.

Bob Hardie, the Hawk, arrives in Dry River to answer editor Walt Selbert's call for help against the ruthless outlaw Spade Hammer and his gang—but a dry-gulcher's ambush in the desert leaves him for dead. When the Hawk manages to survive and return to town, he must face down Shoshone and Spade's crew to restore justice to a town held hostage by violence and intimidation. This fast-paced western shows the Hawk at his finest, outdrawn by none and determined to set things right, no matter the odds.