Return of the Outlaw Read Online Free PDF

identify and whom they would accept readily into their fellowship, or should he convey a more formal image—an image of a man who was likable but somehow above them; wealthy, respectable, even a little intimidating? He considered the two options for a moment, stamped his boots one more time and strode resolutely down the boardwalk. The coat stayed on.
    As he walked he smiled, lifting his hat to women passersby and speaking to everyone he met. Although Stewart was a relative newcomer to the town, it was a rare event for him to encounter someone with whom he was not acquainted. As he walked along Main Street now, affable and outgoing, smiling and greeting everyone in sight, he took careful note of people’s reactions to him. He had learned long ago, without understanding the reasons, that most people either liked him or disliked him almost immediately. He had also learned to use this knowledge to his advantage. When people liked him, he found it was always a simple matter to use and manipulate them for his ends. Those who disliked him were catalogued in his mind, and plans were made to neutralize them should they ever attempt to get in his way. 
    Stewart was pleased with what he had accomplished so far. He could tell that most people here liked him. And why not? He was a tall handsome man, polite and well-spoken with the ladies, witty and charismatic, with a manner about him of education and distinction that was not too polished for these rough westerners. It was rumored he was a member of a fine Eastern family, and had decided to take part of his share of the family fortune and come out West and try his hand at ranching. Stewart himself had started that rumor, but had never been called upon to confirm or deny its truth. Out west a man’s business was his own, and people generally didn’t ask questions unless circumstances required it.
    This fact made little difference to Stewart, because his greatest and most frequently exercised talent was lying. The truth would have quickly put him at the end of a rope, but at the present, he had little fear of that. The evil deeds he had done —and they were many—were far behind him now. There was no one here who knew of him or his past sins or even his real name. He was so certain of this that even the sight of Sheriff Lloyd Jennings, watching from the doorway of his office, evoked only the briefest twinge of alarm in Stewart’s brain.
    Jennings did pose a problem however, in that he was one of those whos e name appeared on the list, in Stewart’s mind, of people who did not like him. This was something that needed to be changed, he thought, as he flashed a smile to Jennings, who curtly nodded back. He didn’t think the sheriff could be bought; it would be folly to try. Jennings was young and in his first term of office. Because of his youth and his need to prove himself, he would tend to be idealistic. Fear would not be the solution either; Lloyd Jennings didn’t seem like a man who would back down. But Stewart, possessing a confidence based on past successes, was certain he would find a way to deal with Sheriff Jennings. The opportunities here were far too numerous for him to allow one man to hinder him in his purposes. 
    It was five years now since the war had ended and during those years a multitude of changes had occurred. The soldiers had returned to provide protection from the Indians, making it safer and more attractive for people to venture west. And this they began doing in droves, particularly after the railroad was completed. Most of them came west bent on building a better life for themselves through their own industry. They were people who asked nothing more than to be given a chance to wield their strengths and apply their skills to the building of homes, farms, businesses, families, towns, territories, and states. But wherever these tillers of the soil and workers of the trades and builders of nations went, they were followed by another kind of people: a