The Independence Trail
Page 27
From a hip pocket, Catlin drew a folded sheet of paper, opened it, and scanned the “Wanted” poster on a highwayman and murderer named Milton Keynes, alias “Martin Cain,” alias “Mickey Crowe.” Missouri offered seven hundred dollars for his capture, breathing optional. His list of crimes included two bank robberies, four coaches stopped and looted, plus a former sidekick killed in Henry County when they squabbled over cutting up the proceeds from one or their holdups.
Henry County, Catlin knew, lay eighty miles southeast of Independence, something like a three-day ride if he relaxed and took his time about it. If he could get a line on Keynes and run him down, it wouldn’t be a bad use of his time.
Why not? Art asked himself, and got no answer that dissuaded him.
This time around, he thought, he’d be more careful about where and when he braced a fugitive, more mindful of civilians getting in the way.
The more he thought about it, the more Catlin’s doubts evaporated, taking flight.
And what else was he any good at, after all?
About the Authors
Ralph Compton stood six foot eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was the USA Today bestselling author of the Trail of the Gunfighter series, the Border Empire series, the Sundown Rider series, and the Trail Drive series, among others.
Lyle Brandt is a Spur Award-winning author and the recipient of the Life Achievement Peacemaker Award from Western Fictioneers, in addition to many other awards. He is the author of The Lawman series, including White Lightning, Reckoning, Blood Trails, and Avenging Angels.
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