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

At the front gate, Violet looked around. What day was it, even? Since starting life on the road, it wasn’t like she needed a calendar. However, due to the lack of congregation, Violet could safely wager that it wasn’t a Sunday. She looked over the graveyard first. A few headstones, most carved out of slats of wood, sat over mounds of cold dirt. A few older graves were overgrown with grass and flowers. A newer one, near the front of the yard, was smaller than the rest, with a fresh mound of dirt beneath its marker. On it sat a ragdoll and a pair of tiny, white shoes. Violet’s heart ached, and in the back of her mind, she wondered…where were those lawmen buried?


Trying to push it from her mind, Violet entered the church, removing her hat as she went. There were six pews on either side of the aisle. A modest altar sat near the front, beneath a beautifully carved and painted cross. Violet’s boots echoed as she stepped further inside the empty, one-room building.


Chapter 132