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

“That don’t seem to satisfy you,” she pointed out.


“No…well…I don’t know.” Violet shifted in Maple’s saddle. “I suspect we’ll only be in Van Buren…how long? A day, maybe?”


“But where are we reallyheaded?” Violet pried. “Is this all y’all do? Go from place to place, doin’ jobs? No home to go to, no family?”


Mei fell to silence. She focused on the road ahead of them, her own hat keeping her face dim with shadow. Yet there was a reflection of the red earth in her beetle black eyes. “Mostly,” she finally said. “We got a few places to stake our claim, especially in winter. Summer and spring, we mostly concern ourselves with work. As much as we can to hold us until the thaw.”


“But there’s gotta be somethingto this life of yours. Some kinda goal in mind, an end plan. You can’t tell me you’ve been doin’ this for at least ten years with no end in sight.”


Chapter 54