Pritchard chose a different path, also in Texas; he joined the Texas Rangers. Over the next ten years he blazed a trail, in gun smoke and blood, throughout the Republic of Texas and the New Mexico and Arizona territories. “Smokin’ Joe” Atherton, as he became known, earned his nickname for his propensity to send those who challenged him to “smoke in hell.” He also earned a well-deserved reputation as the fastest, and most lethal, gunman on the frontier.

The previous summer, fate brought Pritchard and Ditch together once more. The duo joined forces on a cattle drive and ended up back in their hometown. There they courageously faced down Burnell Shipley and his crew of murderous lawmen, but not before Pritchard’s mother was killed and his younger sister, Idelle, was taken hostage. The two heroic young Missourians, neither yet thirty years old, eliminated the mayor, cleaned out his crooked gunmen, rescued Idelle, and freed the town of Atherton from the yoke of abuse and corruption that had characterized Burnell Shipley’s decades-long reign.

In the nine months since their epic battle in the streets of Atherton, the town, finally out from under the shadow of Shipley’s iron-fisted rule, once again prospered. Ditch and Idelle, fulfilling her childhood wish, got engaged.

Ironically, with Burnell Shipley’s death and the passing of their mother, Idelle and Samuel Pritchard inherited the vast wealth of Atherton’s lucrative lumber, cattle, and merchandising enterprises once controlled exclusively by Shipley.

Pritchard, however, refused any part of the abundant inheritance. He left his share of the money, and the running of Atherton, in his younger sister’s capable hands, comforted by the knowledge that Ditch, his most trusted friend, was at her side. As a result of Pritchard’s reticence, Idelle found herself in the unique and unexpected position of being the wealthiest person in Jackson County, Missouri. And until the special elections coming up in June, she was also the acting mayor of Atherton.

Pritchard contented himself with putting to rest the alias Smokin’ Joe Atherton, and the role of Ranger, gunfighter, and man-killer that had made him a legend under that infamous title.

Meanwhile Ditch, at Idelle’s insistence, announced his candidacy for mayor to fill the vacancy created by Burnell Shipley’s abrupt demise. She knew he had the temperament, business acumen, and ethical foundation to lead Atherton out of the trauma the community had endured throughout the war and at Shipley’s filthy hands.

At Ditch’s, Idelle’s, and the town council’s prodding, Pritchard had taken on the job of town marshal. He had also, reluctantly, allowed himself to be nominated as a candidate for Jackson County sheriff and grudgingly accepted the position of acting sheriff until the election.

“Are you comin’ with me to the train station,” Ditch asked impatiently, “or ain’t ya?”