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

“I was ten years old. I remember it, right down to the day. Papa was finishing a job with the other workers. The foreman promised everyone a hearty bonus for finishing before the deadline. He spent weeks talking about it. And then, just a few days before the railroad was complete, the heat got the best of him. He died, right there, on the tracks. The foreman kicked him aside, and the work continued. He rotted out there in the sun. No one was allowed to rush back and tell us. We didn’t find out until the men returned home, without him. My mother was in shambles. And when she asked for the rest of my father’s pay? The foreman ignored her. Mocked her. He repossessed the only home I’d ever known, and turned us out with only two dollars between us.


Chapter 122