Jesse and Frank tried to keep their horses quiet.

They were mounted and ready to run, but they hid in their stable and waited as four men

rode into the yard of the family farm.

They probably couldn't see what was happening outside, but they'd been expecting the men.

Hopefully the men would ask their questions and leave, but if not, suddenly they heard

a commotion outside.

A 13-year-old boy threw open the door of the James Family Farmhouse, surprising the

two men who were about to knock.

The boy raced out to the stable and dragged open the door.

Frank and Jesse spurred their horses and charged out of the stable.

Rifle fire opened up on them from the field behind the house.

Two men were stationed there to stop their escape.

The men at the house ran for their horses and fired at the James family.

Frank and Jesse galloped toward a rail fence.

Their horses leapt over the fence without a moment of hesitation.

The four men chasing them were not so lucky.

Three of their four horses refused to make the jump, and the pursuit quickly fizzled out.

Ten minutes later, the coast was clear and the James boys trotted back to their farm.

He was the first attempted arrest of the brothers as suspected outlaws.

They were wanted for robbery and murder, and that event would vault them from obscurity

to notoriety.

They were rebels, young and wild, honed by the violence of the Civil War and infuriated

...