April 8, 1869
Latham Cole, the railroad tycoon of Colby, has made many outstanding achievements. Contributing so much to the transcontinental railroad, he has made transportation more convenient for those and is destined to make the railroad run from Colby, Texas to San Francisco, California. All connected by iron rail. He was seen as a man of great gratitude, but what people didn't know, was that behind all this, he secretly meant to take advantage of so many railroad workers to build the iron track many miles wide to deliver silver to San Francisco in hopes of gaining riches beyond riches. In Texas, silver wasn't valuable, but it definitely was in San Francisco. And little did anyone suspect as well, that this man fought alongside Butch Cavendish.
To everyone in Colby, Cavendish was the most notorious outlaw. He was an Indian killer and robber who is to be hanged for his crimes. Nobody would've known that behind Latham's smile, that there was a plan. You see, many years back, Latham and Butch found silver somewhere in the desert and have kept it a secret from everyone. Now they have been planning and plotting to take a train to San Francisco to become rich, but Latham wasn't only going to take the silver to San Francisco with him. He has set his eyes on Rebecca Reid, the head ranger's wife. Although he knows she is married with a son, Danny, he can't help but see her and flirt. She was strikingly beautiful, but very plain. A typical frontierswoman who spent her days wasting away at home while she waits for her husband, Dan, to come home from catching outlaws. She doesn't do much when he's away fighting crime, but she tends to walk around town to get out. She held Danny's hand as they both walked into town from their ranch. "Your daddy's coming home, Danny." She said with a smile. Danny smiled back as he held his mother's hand. As they approached town, she noticed Latham was conversing with other railroad tycoons and that's when her smile faded. She knew Latham liked her. She starting walking slow paced. "Why are you walking so slow, mama?" Rebecca looked at Latham and that's when Latham spotted her. He shook hands with one of the railroad tycoons and then left. Rebecca headed for the railroad platform to greet her husband from a long journey. She got there and saw the train coming in. Dan was the first one to get off the train. That's when Rebecca let go of Danny's hand and hugged her husband. "It's good to see you, Dan." She kissed him. "I brought a little surprise for you as well, Rebecca. I passed by the city on the way back." His head turned towards the train and out came Rebecca's sister, whom she hasn't seen in years. Rebecca cupped her mouth. Her sister moved into the city years ago. "Hi Rebecca." Rosemary said. Rebecca gave her a sister a big hug as she set down her bags. "I've missed you." "I've missed you too." After they embraced, Rebecca held her sister's face. "Look at you. My baby sister is all grown up now." Rosemary smiled. She had long, brunette hair like Rebecca's and had light blue eyes. Rosemary had left Colby before Dan and Rebecca had a child so she has never seen her nephew. She looked at Danny, then looked back at Rebecca. "Is this your son?" she smiled. "Yes, this is Danny. He's 9." She started to tear up. All these years, she's never seen her nephew. She knelt down to look at him. "Hi. I'm your Aunt Rosemary." Danny smiled and gave her a hug. She looked up at Rebecca. "I'm sorry I haven't written to you after all these years, Rebecca." Rebecca smiled. "It's fine, Rose. I'm just glad that you're here." Rosemary smiled. "Where's John?" she asked Dan. "Oh he's coming home too. Next train. He's coming back from Law School in the city." "Well, good for him." She smiled. Latham showed up at the train station. Rebecca turned her face. "Mr. Cole." Dan said with a tip of his hat. Everybody, but Rebecca, looked at Latham. "Dan, it's good to have you home again from jailing that Butch Cavendish." He said shaking Dan's hand. That's when Rosemary stood up. "Butch Cavendish?" Latham looked at her. "And who may you be, miss?" "Oh. I'm Rebecca's sister, Rosemary. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…?" "Cole." He said with a tip of his hat. "Mr. Cole." She said with a faint grin. "May I ask again, who is Butch Cavendish?" "Oh. Only the meanest and ruthless of outlaws. He's done the whole nine yards from robbing to killing." "My, he sounds awful." "He indeed is. But we're hanging him at sunrise. Right now he's on his way here on the next train." Rosemary gasped. "That's the same train John is on!" "Now don't you worry, miss, he is chained up in the back cargo. He won't be able to kill anybody on the train." "Good. He sounds like someone I wouldn't want to be next to." The train was now in sight coming from the city and from the county jail. Rebecca heard the train horn. "Looks like our criminal is almost here."