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

“We’re about a mile east of Ouachita. We bank north after we clear the lake, and we can ford both rivers in a day.”


Linus looked up from his whiskey. “Bank north? We’ll hit Danville if we bank north.”


“Not necessarily. We head north east of here and we come to the pinch in the two rivers. We’ll pass Danville by nightfall, easy.”


Linus was not pleased, but gave no argument and sipped his whiskey. Violet, distracted from her kitchen work, rested her peeler on her knee to speak. “What’s in Danville?” she asked.


Linus grunted. “Not every city welcomes the likes of us with open arms,” he said. “We gotta keep tabs on which ones would rather hang us on sight than show us hospitality.”


Violet blinked. “Really? But the sheriff back in Little Rock didn’t know you was Railwalkers. I’m sure no one would know you on sight.”


Chapter 55