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had done plenty of things he wasn’t proud of in his life. He had been on his own since he was nine years old, when both his parents had died of a fever while the family was on its way west. The only way he had survived the fifteen years since was by doing whatever it took, even if that meant breaking a few laws. He had stolen money and food plenty of times, and after he got older he had stuck a gun in men’s faces and made them hand over their valuables.
    But he had never killed anybody while committing his crimes, or any other time, either. Maybe he’d just been lucky that things had worked out that way, but he liked to think it was more than that. He hoped he still had a shred of decency left in him.
    Nobody would ever say that about Eldon Swint. The man had a reputation for being cunning and ruthless, and it was well deserved. The gang he led had been growing for several years, its latest recruits being Bodie Cantrell and Jake Lucas.
    The two young men had quickly become good friends. Jake had opened up a little to him during long nights standing guard while the gang was on the run from the law. It was how Bodie knew about the bitterness hidden behind Jake’s easygoing grin.
    They were on the verge of pulling their biggest job yet. According to the information Swint had gotten, almost $80,000 in new gold coins would be on the train coming through Kansas tonight, on their way to several banks in St. Louis. Even divided among the almost two dozen men in the gang, that was more than three grand apiece. Bodie could hardly conceive of having that much money.
    Once he had his share of the loot, he could quit the gang, head farther west, maybe even start a little spread somewhere. After a decade and a half of drifting around, struggling to survive, getting in and out of trouble, the idea of settling down and trying to forge a real life for himself held a powerful appeal.
    â€œThe east bound’s due to come through a little after eight o’clock tonight,” Swint went on. “If we all ride in there before that, it’s bound to raise some suspicions. So here’s what we’ll do. Four of us will ride in. Me, of course”—he looked around the gang—“and Charley.”
    Charley Green was one of Swint’s top lieutenants. He had been in the gang for a couple years.
    Swint pointed to another man. “You, too, Hinkley, and . . . Cantrell. You’ll be the fourth man.”
    Bodie nodded. He wasn’t sure what Swint had in mind for the four of them to do, and he would have just as soon not been picked by the boss outlaw, but he would go along with whatever he needed to do. He wanted that stake.
    â€œWe’ll ride in as soon as it gets dark,” Swint continued. “Maybe have a drink in the saloon and size the place up. Then we’ll drift over to the depot one by one and get the drop on the fella working there. Once he’s raised the flag to get the eastbound to stop, we’ll signal the rest of you. You’ll be waitin’ up here. As soon as the train pulls in, all of you charge down to the station and make sure nobody interferes with us while we’re gettin’ that loot out of the express car.”
    Bodie had to admit, the plan sounded like it would work. If everything broke their way, they would ride off into the night $80,000 richer, without a shot being fired.
    It would be a good way to end his career as a desperado, he thought.

C HAPTER S EVEN
    Later that afternoon, while they were waiting in a small grove of cottonwoods for night to fall, Jake came over to Bodie. “I wish the boss had picked me as one of the four to go into town tonight.”
    â€œIt doesn’t really matter,” Bodie said. “You’ll get your share either way.”
    â€œYeah, I know, but you boys get to have a drink first, maybe even pat some calico cat on the rump while you’re waitin’. I get to hang around out here with a bunch of