In early January of 1870 Bill Langley, a Texas cowboy, rode into Cheyenne, sitting erect and tall in the saddle. He rode with one hand on his reins and his free hand well within easy reach of his holstered gun. He was handsome, full of bravado, and had an air of confidence about him. Although other young men shared those attributes, something was different about this cowboy.
The lone man was a stranger to Cheyenne. Perhaps he was a cowboy in town from the herd just outside. That was the obvious assumption anyway. It was, after all, a cattle town.
But they were wrong. The young man was running from a troubled past in Texas. He had been accused of stealing horses, robbing settlers, and killing a freed slave. The Union Army was offering a $1000 reward for his capture. The handsome stranger had taken up with the outlaws Dick and Jim Sanders. Langley was in Cheyenne as a scout.
Lizzy Smith saw him ride into town. It was in front of the Cheyenne Bank that their eyes first met. Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Lizzy wanted to look away as he rode by. She considered herself a respectable young lady and respectable young ladies weren’t supposed to be looking at strangers.
………………………………………………. “My name is Elizabeth Mary Smith. But call me Lizzy. Everyone else does.”
“Miss Smith, my name is Bill, Bill Langley. When I saw you back there, you looked like someone willing to help a stranger. I was hoping you would come see me.”
Their story develops in Cheyenne Circumstance A Chance To Escape His Troubled Past
