EPISODE 1: The Stranger

Better head on in.  I reckon Mary will be worried if I don't make it back before sundown.

I was out on the plains lookin' to shoot a couple hares to bring back to Mary and Sam for supper.  Time tends to fly by when you're runnin' around shootin' them suckers and I wasn't going to make it home before dark.  With the coyotes and wolves, the plains can get a little dangerous for a man riding alone after dark.  So I figured I'd get a fire goin' and settle down for the night.  We had plenty of stores of smoked elk back at the house so Mary and Sam could manage without me.

I see a faint glow on the horizon and ride toward it.

I reckon that's another weary traveler set down for the night.  Maybe if give him one of these hares he'll let me join him.

I keep a hand on the handle of my Colt in case the traveler is not the friendly type.  When I get within earshot, I call out to him.

"Hey there, partner!  No need to be alarmed, I'm just passin' through.  Lookin' to hunker down for the night.  I can give you one of these here hares if you let me join you.  It ain't fat or nothin', but I reckon it'd make a nice meal."

The man nods.  He doesn't appear to be a friendly fellow.  But as I approach, I can see his face illuminated in the orange glow of the campfire.  He's got long, black hair and a short, grizzled black beard.  An X shaped scar adorns his cheek.  He had these striking blue eyes that cut daggers into you.

I get closer and I see the man clutching his chest.  His shirt is soaked and black blood oozes through his fingers.

"Say, mister, that's a pretty nasty wound you got there," I say in a shaky voice.  "What...uh... happened?"

He ignores me.

"Say, mister, I used to be a medic in the war.  I can patch that up for you.  Blood's turnin' black.  Your wound'll kill you if not taken care of."

He nods.  I slowly approach him.  He removes his hand to reveal a bullet wound.  Exit wound is in his back.  Lucky for him the bullet passed through.

I tear the sleeve from my shirt and press it hard into the wound.  The Stranger winces in pain and takes a long pull from the bottle he's holding.  As I tend to the exit wound in his back he mutters something.

"Charlie Steward."

"Sir?"

"Charlie Steward.  Charlie Steward shot me."

My heart sinks.  Charlie Steward is the second in command of the Black-Steward Gang.  The Black-Steward Gang is a posse of vicious train robbers infamous across the West for their brutality and efficiency.  I now know who this man is.

"Are you...are you...Ray Black?"

"I am.  I'm going to find Charlie and I'm going to kill that son of a bitch.  And you're going to help me."

TO BE CONTINUED...