Ruth Hanson

America, 1887. In a country healing from the horrors of the Civil War, the American West has never been more treacherous. Evil men do as they please, and the often faulty and corrupt justice system does little to nothing to help their victims. Enter the Railwalkers. Bandits whose only goal is to punish those whom the law has allowed to walk free. Some think they're an 28 legend, meant to scare would-be criminals into submission. Some see them as no different than the murderers they kill, while to others, they are angels of mercy. To Violet Donovan, they are family. Growing up as the sole heiress to the sizable Donovan estate, Violet's place of privilege allowed her wild spirit to flourish. Despite the pressures of her sex -- find a husband, stay pretty, have children, be subservient, don't speak out of line -- Violet is passionate, loud, stubborn, and untamed. However, at the ripe, marriageable age of twenty, Violet faces the fact that she may have to give in to her mother's wishes and marry mean, ugly Eustace Carpenter, the only other family name in their little town with comparable worth. But Violet's life changes forever when she is saved from an attacker by a strange woman. A woman who, like Violet, doesn't exactly fit the mold. Unfortunately Violet gets mixed up in a murder charge and has to leave everything she knows for a life on the run from the law. Through divine intervention, she and the woman cross paths again, and Violet comes to know her and her comrades. They are Mei Wong, Linus Cooper, Sitting Bear, and Rory McNab. The infamous Railwalker gang.

The Railwalkers

Violet shifted where she stood, her small bundle of clothes and valuables in her arms. “Clementine…White.” The house mother behind the desk scribbled something down in the boarding house’s registry. She was a willowy old spinster, and as she checked Violet into her room, Violet never saw her smile. After finishing with Violet’s information, she turned to the wall of keys behind her, plucked one at random, and handed it to Violet.


“Rent is two dollars a week. Breakfast is served between six and seven in the morning. Dinner is at noon, and supper is promptly at six-thirty. If you miss a meal, that’s your business. Showers are out back. You are expected to keep your room neat and well-kept during your stay here. No strange men, or visitors of any kind unless they are your blood relative, and only if they check in with me first. This is not a public house. Am I understood?”


Chapter 22