The Regulator is Wes Hart — ex-soldier, ex-Texas Ranger, ex-rider with Billy the Kid. He's tough, ruthless, and slick with a .45. He's for hire now and he isn't cheap...
The good citizens of Caldwell had raised a fistful of dollars to pay for the railroad that would bring the Santa Fe thundering to their town. It was not a popular idea with Clancy Shire, the local cattle baron. Then the money went like a dollar bill loose in a dust-storm. Carried off by three of the nastiest desperadoes even the border country had seen.
Which explains how the folk of Caldwell are paying out to the Regulator. They need his kind of muscle for protection. For Hart it's another job, but not every job has a pretty widow woman as well as a payday.
Could make a man sentimental...