Chapter 1

The wagon could be seen against the moon as it crested the ridge. The two mules plodded along while the two women that occupied the seat sat silently contemplating their thoughts and trying to ignore the pain of their injuries.

In the bed of the wagon lay the bodies of three men dressed in the sheets and hoods of the Nightriders.

It had taken the better part of the previous day for the two women to bury their dead family members—husbands and children. The two Irish families had immigrated to America four years before the American Civil War, because their relatives had praised America. They had been full of hope and looked for a better way of life, all because they had read of the freedoms set forth in the American Bill of Rights.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The English ruled Ireland with a 'rod of iron' and they used that rod to beat down a proud people. There were none of the freedoms set forth in the American Constitution and so the families had emigrated from Ireland. For a time the two families had found peace and a bit of prosperity in the Missouri territories, but all of that was gone now! Their homestead was in ashes, their animals and loved ones dead. Their hopes and dreams destroyed by bigotry.

The younger woman twisted a bit in her seat as she tried to ease some of the pain. She had fought hard against the attackers and felt the bite of the lash for all of her efforts. It was plain to see by the light of the moon that the back and sides of her tattered dress were soaked through with blood.

The second woman cradled her left arm because of a gunshot wound to her bicep. A visit to help a neighbor in childbirth had saved her from being at home when the Nightriders had attacked. It was she that had saved the other woman!

The attack had been going on for some time when, Maeve, for that was her name, returned. The Nightriders could not see Maeve because of the bright flames shooting from the house and barn had ruined their night vision, but Maeve could see everything that was happening clearly, the bodies of the children and the men lying around the yard and the half-dozen men in white robes with hoods trying to rape her younger sister, Shaylee. The young woman fought like a devil. She disabled two of her attackers with a well-placed foot or knee but was finally defeated due to the overwhelming odds. As the two injured men lay on the ground clutching their privates and moaning the other men tore the top of Shaylee's dress down and tied her to a tree.

Maeve's heart turned to stone and a virulent hatred filled her whole being as she viewed what was happening. The time for tears and grief would come later. She moved the wagon off of the road and tied the mules to prevent them from running away when all of the shooting started. The woman then took the rifle and found a good place from which to shoot.

The first man to fall was the man with the lash—his head exploded. Maeve rolled ten feet to her left and fired again. This time, the man that had seen her muzzle flash and returned fire fell. Maeve now rolled back to her right fifteen feet and fired at the man that was about to shoot her sister.

The Nightriders now figured that there were at least three people on the ridge shooting at them, they didn't like even odds and ran for their horses. Maeve got off two more shots wounding two of the three attackers as they fled. She wasn't sure but she thought that they were both gut shot and would die horribly slow and painful deaths—at least she could hope they would!

Maeve went to help her sister.

There was no need for talk as the wagon made it's way into town—the women had already laid out their plans for retribution.

There is nothing more dangerous, than a person that has lost absolutely everything.

Let me say it again, so that you understand how important this is.

There is nothing more dangerous, than a person that has lost absolutely everything.

At one-thirty in the morning the wagon rolled up behind the general store and the two dismounted. The older woman wore the holsters and guns of two of the dead men. The younger woman wore the one remaining weapon from the dead men, but she also had her husband's Le Mat pistol as her secret weapon (the Le Mat is a nine shot revolver, usually of .42 caliber, with a small smoothbore shotgun barrel under the main barrel.) Along with the handguns each woman carried a double-barreled shotgun.