Dusty trails can lead you to a golden road I've been told
Can't remember who it was but all she spoke
Will a penny for her thoughts leave me broke?
'Cause everyone's around and I'm still alone
-Lucius, “Dusty Trail”
Dusty Spur Saloon, Dusthaven
May 14, 1875 - 6 pm
It had been a long, hard week of working on his new cabin. As the last light faded in the sky, Cole felt the need for some time away from it. He wondered if it would ever be complete. His work went on, it seemed, endlessly, even though he put in at least twelve hours each day.
Despite his exhaustion, despite the fact that he had not forgiven the people of Dusthaven for what they had done to Geneviève, he decided to go over to the saloon. He figured it might be easier to forget about things when he was surrounded by other people, or at least to be surrounded by the noise of other people. Maybe it would be easier to forget that there was something inside him that ached with emptiness, which felt like it would never be filled.
So he saddled up Nevah and headed into Dusthaven, where he gave her some feed and then tied her near the water trough. Walking into the saloon, he stalked over to the bar and ordered a whiskey - and for the bartender to leave the bottle. The other patrons did not pay him any mind. He was about three shots in when the relative calm of the saloon was broken by a loud expletive and the crash of another whiskey bottle against the mirror behind the bar.
Cole had not noticed Orin Owley sitting nearby, and obviously Owley either didn’t notice him or didn’t care. He stomped past Cole as though he were looking for a fight. “Orin?” Cole caught him by the shoulder. “Orin, calm down.”
“You let me alone.” Owley pushed him away. “Damn you, and damn me for a damn failure!” He turned and crashed out of the saloon, weaving drunkenly.
Noticing that some of the miners and railroad workers were watching this, Cole asked “What happened to him?”
Old Worthington kicked the kid out. Just like he did you. And he just keeps going on about the medicine show girl and what Hollister did to her. I’m guessing you didn’t much like that either.” The rail man swallowed hard. And then backed away. “I’ve seen him do this before and it’s no fun.” Then he stammered, tipped his hat, and took off down the saloon toward the other end.
Following Owley outside, he found the railroad man cursing, and stomping repeatedly on an expensive-looking pocket watch. “Stupid! Worthless! Disgrace!” Before Cole could stop him, he drew his revolver and shot the pocket watch point blank.
“Orin,” Cole shouted. “I’m upset about what happened too, but please. Use your pistol on the right target.”
“Yes,” Owley slurred, standing unsteadily as he regarded his handiwork. “You’re right, of course, Bridgewater.” He seemed to calm down for a moment, and then just as quickly raised the pistol toward his own head. “Did you ever disgrace your father?”
Cole wondered if that was a trick question, but he only grabbed Owley’s arm and yanked the drunken man’s gun out of his hand. “Every day, it seems,” he said. Owley groaned and then heaved what little it seemed he had eaten that day onto the street.
The antics had, it seemed, drawn quite a crowd of onlookers. “Someone help me get him home,” said Cole, sounding both relieved and exhausted. It seemed that most of the people in Dusthaven did respect Owley. They were usually a rowdy lot, but Cole hadn’t heard a single protest or heckle in the whole incident.
When it was time to help Owley back to his residence, there were townspeople who volunteered to stay with Owley until he sobered up. Cole picked up Owley's watch. It was an E. Howard & Co watch, one of the best in the world. Cole was very impressed. The watch was engraved with a message from Owley's father about keeping the trains running on time. Perhaps it was a gift when he had started with the railroad. Owley would be quite peeved when he came to himself and realized that he had destroyed it.
A couple of the other townsfolk offered to stay with Owley until he sobered up, so Cole didn’t feel bad about leaving him. He was headed back into the saloon when he notices Westin Kane standing outside, smoking a pipe. Unlike Owley, Kane looked as though he had cleaned himself up a bit since Geneviève’s passing. Noticing Cole coming in, he said “Hold up there, Bridgewater.”
Cole stopped and regarded him. “Kane,” he said.
“I heard about you and Owley losing your jobs on the railroad. That sounds like a rough go. I might be able to offer you the chance to make a dollar, if you’re willing to help me put that bastard who turned my Geneviève into that… thing… in the ground, that is. You and Owley seem to be the only ones besides me that care about what happened to her.”
“I’m listening,” said Cole. At that moment, he wanted nothing else.
“Hollister and the rest of those miscreants in the Callahan gang are wanted, dead or alive. Of course I have found in such cases that dead is a lot less trouble.” He laughed coldly. “The reward for them is rather sizeable. I could split it with a partner or two, easy.”
“You can count me in,” said Cole. “But I can’t vouch for Owley until he sobers up.”
“We can go visit him tomorrow,” said Kane. “Now I did me some poking around this week, and I think I found out where the bastard hangs his hat when he’s not doing God knows what in that canyon. The Callahan gang pretty much runs Red Rock Gulch, and by all accounts they are looking to expand their operation here. I think the town might reward us for putting a stop to that, too.”
Cole shook Kane’s hand enthusiastically. “Agreed,” he said. “Let’s meet here when Owley feels like talking, and then we’ll have a look at this Red Rock Gulch.” Kane left Cole to his recreation, but he found that he didn’t want a drink quite as much as he had before. Instead, he wanted a chance to put Hollister’s head in the sights of his new six-gun. He could only hope that Red Rock Gulch would allow him that opportunity.
The Badlands
7: 30 am, May 15, 1875
The next morning dawned, and Cole excitedly waited for Kane outside the saloon, and then they rode to Owley’s place. His house was a two-story affair, and big for Dusthaven. The materials were nicer than most. Cole wondered if he had gotten them from the railroad somehow.
When he came to the door, Owley looked like ten miles of bad road - hair disheveled, unshaven, collar open, jacket and waistcoat nowhere to be seen. “What do you want,” he fairly growled. Kane quickly filled him in on their plan. Owley looked like he might rather eat broken glass than go anywhere with Kane, but he did agree to go with them to Red Rock Gulch.
They set off in the exact opposite direction from Coyote Gulch, where they had found Geneviève. Kane hoped that this route would keep the outlaws in the Gulch from seeing them. The badlands were sparsely populated, but after about three hours they started seeing miners heading off into the hills, dressed for work.
“A lot more miners around here,” said Cole.
“That was why we called you to Dusthaven,” said Owley. “The railroad wants to connect these two gold strikes. That’s why we needed to move out the Apaches. Of course, now we’ve got a bigger problem.”
“You mean, they have a bigger problem,” said Cole. “Their problems no longer concern you or I.” Owley nodded morosely.
“We should give the horses a break before we hit town,” said Kane. “In case we have to leave quickly.” They had stopped to rest the horses and now were in the shade of some scrub trees, so the three men dismounted and sat down to wait for their horses to rest. While they were waiting, Owley suddenly spied something glinting in the brush not far away. Reaching in, he pulled out a fancy white lace parasol with a silver filigreed handle.
“That suits you,” said Kane, grinning. He gave a wolf whistle. Owley didn't seem amused. He started to throw the parasol away, but then noticed something engraved on the handle.
“Lady Evelyn Fairfax,” he read. His brow furrowed. “Never heard of her.”
“I have,” said Cole. “Well, the family anyway. They’re old money back home - my family has our fair share of dealings with them. They’re even more well-off than my father. Not sure what one of the daughters would be doing out here - probably interested in the mines.” Although Cole kept it to himself, from what he knew of them they were also the types who might be interested in Hollister’s experiments.
Red Rock Gulch - 10:30 am
Cole got the impression that Red Rock Gulch was a far more permanent and better established town than Dusthaven. It even felt a bit like an actual city. As the three men emerged from the badlands, the first thing they saw was the Eagle's Bend River flowing past the town. A new courthouse was being built on the main street, and some of the buildings even had the American flag flying in front of them.
There were several camps of prospectors panning for gold just outside the city limits. Townsfolk were walking around the area in search of something, and there were a couple of steamboats on the river going into town. Cole didn’t get the sense that they were in danger, but there was still a hint of mystery. Maybe this place was not as it seemed, and he wasn’t sure he liked that.
“Fnally,” said Owley. “I am getting tired of this saddle. I could use a drink. Maybe some hot food, too.”
A couple of the townsfolk looked the trio over, then took off. Cole thought that perhaps someone didn’t like his look - it had happened before. But now that they had a lead on Hollister, he felt they needed to be careful. They were too close to their objective to let some jumpy locals ruin it.
"Did you see that?" Cole asked.
"See what?" said Owley, obviously oblivious due to the hangover from his drunken tirade the night before.
"It's fair to say," answered Kane, "That we aren't completely safe here."