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“He had the appearance of wisdom and age and authority, which was why his readings were popular and the reason the dimes rang into his coffee can. When they read his handbills men abandoned the saloon, they slipped out of various unnamed establishments, they ran through the rain from their firelit homes, they left the cattle circled and bedded beside the flooding Red to come and hear the news of the distant world.��

This is Captain Jefferson Kidd, a veteran of three wars, the last being the Civil War. He’s now 72 and maintains his wandering spirit by acting as an itinerant news reader to the scattered pioneer communities of 1870 Texas. In Wichita Falls he encounters a ten year old girl who had been captured by Kiowa and who had now sold her back. The Captain is offered a 50 dollar gold piece to transport the girl to her aunt and uncle in San Antonio, a four hundred mile journey. I know this sounds like a remake of True Grit but it’s much better. There are, of course many adventures on the journey but the beauty of the book is the evolving relationship between Kidd and the girl who can’t speak any English at the beginning. Charming, delightful, recommended.