The Moonshiners

By Ron Lewis

In the heart of the deep woods, a young boy stumbles upon a forbidden secret, thrusting him into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. “The Moonshiners” weaves a gripping tale of suspense and survival.

Unbeknownst to eleven-year-old Robert Bain, his innocent adventure in the woods leads him to a fateful encounter with a pair of moonshiners. But when their lifeless bodies are discovered, Robert becomes convinced he knows the identity of their killer. The only problem? His own father, Sheriff Forest Bain, refuses to believe him.

As Sheriff Bain stalks the murderer, the killer stalks Robert and his new girlfriend, Joyce Devon, with a plan to silence the boy and girl for good. But the killer is not one to be underestimated. Robert and Joyce find themselves pursued relentlessly by a determined killer on their heels. The pair must outwit a cunning predator who will stop at nothing to silence them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ron Lewis
• Release date: Jan 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215132890

Ron Lewis

Ron Lewis has had a life long interest and love of both history and westerns. Blending fact and fiction together, mixing real characters and those created from whole cloth, his stories are his views of the old west of the 19th century.Mr. Lewis’s roots in Oklahoma reach back to the 19th century when is his great-grandfather John moved though the Indian territories, and eventually Oklahoma territory yearly. He operated a traveling musical group who sold a panacea concoction most often called “Snake Oil.”Eventually his grandfather, John Henry, settled in the Winding Stair Mountains of eastern Oklahoma, very near to Robbers Cave. John Henry worked for a mining company as an elevator operator. His grandfather was well known and all who knew him knew his credo in life. “I don’t want to be higher than picking corn or lower than digging potatoes.”Hearing stories from his father, uncles and grandfather about life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries kindled a love for those bygone days. Many of these stories are the basis for his writing.

Book preview

The Moonshiners

An Osceola County Adventure

Ron Lewis

© Copyright 2022 Ron Lewis

This is a work of fiction and not intended to be historically accurate, but merely a representation of the times. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to any person, living or dead, is merely coincidental and unintentional. Historical characters used are strictly for dramatic purposes. This story contains some violence.

Authors note: There is no Osceola County in Oklahoma.

The Moonshiners

Osceola County, Oklahoma June 1965

Robert Forest Bain pulled a kitchen chair to the living room, climbed on the chair, and retrieved his .22 Winchester pump-action rifle from the rack on the wall. Climbing down, he put the gun against the wall. Returning the chair to the kitchen, Robert picked up the gun, four .22 long rifle shells from a drawer in the secretary, and sat down on the couch.

He extracted the inner tube from the outer and dropped the shells into the tube. Once he replaced the inner tube, he stood and headed out the door. With both his parents at work, he was free to have some fun, so long as he returned in time to make it to baseball practice at 5:00.

Living on the outskirts of Walkertown gave him quick access to the woods. The woods meant squirrels. He opened the gate and let his beagle, McCartney, out of the backyard to accompany him on the hunt. Kneeling, he petted the dog and rubbed his neck.

I got four shells, Robert said, should be enough to get at least three squirrels. Let’s see if Papa wants to go with us, okay, McCartney?

The two walked down the incline of the ridge toward the valley below. Walkertown sat on a long, flat-topped hill in Osceola County, Oklahoma. The ridge was shy of being a mountain by 200 feet. Halfway down the slope, a small white house stood in a large flat section. There was a dirt road that meandered down the hill from the dwelling.

DP Bain, the boy yelled, You want to go a-hunting with me, you old man, you?

The screen door opened. A short, somewhat round man, wearing a tall, wide-brim Stetson hat, a blue bib shirt, with a Colt single-action pistol strapped to his hip, sauntered onto the porch. The elderly man sat on the porch swing. He pushed the hat back on his head, patted the seat next to him, and called to the boy.

Robert Forest Bain, you come up here an’ sit with me an’ don’t you be yelling at me like-n I was your damn dog, boy. Come here, McCartney, the old man said, followed by whistling.

The dog rushed toward the old man, bounded to the porch, and jumped into