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

Sitting Bear, Linus, and Rory were all asleep within the hour. Linus and Rory were snuggled up and snoring peacefully, while Sitting Bear seemed to, in fact, sleep sitting up. Violet watched in slight awe, and wondered if that was how he got his name. Mei, on the other hand, remained wide awake. She kept an eye outside their cave, as if fascinated by the rain itself. Violet, seated on the far wall opposite her, felt her eyes linger on Mei’s profile. Their pitiful little fire had since gone out, and all that was left was the dull, washed out light of the rainy day.


Mei said nothing during this time. She moved very little. The most she did move was to brush her long, beautiful hair. Truly looking at her, it was Mei’s most feminine feature. Violet kept her eyes averted as she did so, as though something told her that such an act was private and intimate. She caught glances of the strange, ivory brush, once again pondering the creature on the handle. She didn’t dare ask what it was.


Chapter 29