One of many recommended westerns by this prolific author. Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 â May 12, 1944) was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary westerns under the pen name Max Brand. In this short story told in the first person, Leon Porfilo, an outlaw of poor beginnings and lowly ancestry, goes up against Jeffrey Dinsmore, a gentleman outlaw born of the privileged class, in an attempt to clear his name and gain a pardon. In âHis Fight for a Pardonâ Max Brand depicts the power of the press to shape public opinion. Experience the West as only Max Brand could write it!