
CHAPTER I - THE TOUCH OF A CHILD
CHAPTER II - BRICK MAKES A MOVE
CHAPTER III - FLIGHT
CHAPTER IV - AN UNWONTED PRAYER
CHAPTER V - A NEW ROBINSON CRUSOE
CHAPTER VI - A MYSTERIOUS GUEST
CHAPTER VII - RED FEATHER
CHAPTER VIII - GETTING CIVILIZED
CHAPTER IX - A YOUNG MAN'S FANCY
CHAPTER X - THE FLAG OF TRUCE
In the stark, wind‑blasted plains of the post‑Civil War frontier, a ragged band of outlaws has seized a battered wagon train, scattering loot, Indian disguises, and a trembling stranger across a dusty table. Amid the clatter of cards and the cruel laughter of hardened men, a five‑year‑old girl lies asleep, her innocent face a fragile contrast to the violence that surrounds her. The prisoner’s desperate confession—of love for his dying wife and the desperate flight with his stepdaughter—adds a raw, human urgency to the lawless tableau.
Red Kimball, the gang’s charismatic yet ruthless leader, holds court with a booming voice that commands both fear and uneasy respect. His decision to execute the captive hinges on a fragile balance between loyalty, survival, and a flicker of conscience that surfaces when the child's helplessness is revealed. Listeners are thrust into a tense standoff where honor, betrayal, and the harsh realities of frontier life collide, setting the stage for a gripping tale of survival and moral conflict.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (402K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Pat Pflieger. HTML version by Al Haines.
Release date
2000-01-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1870–1956
A prolific American novelist and educator from Missouri, he wrote historical romances and popular fiction that reached a wide audience in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His life was shaped by extraordinary resilience, and that determination carried through both his teaching and his writing.
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