Longarm and the Colorado gundown

_{“Not yet,” Longarm said patiently. “This oughta be Silver Creek.”}

_{The man who’d asked the question gave him a look like it was Longarm’s fault the coach hadn’t yet reached Telluride. Longarm was not going to be greatly disappointed to be parting company from this traveler. The salesman was going on to Telluride by coach, while Longarm would be transferring to a newly completed rail line here for the rest of the trip into Snowshoe. Thank goodness.}

_{“Nice meetin’ you,” Longarm lied politely as he opened the coach door and dropped down to ground level without waiting for the wood steps to be set in place.}

_{A boy dragged the steps up and put them beside the open door so the other passengers could disembark if they wished. There had been eleven men in the coach on this run. Not bad, everything considered. The Studebaker would}

_{accommodate an even dozen inside, plus there was room for more on the roof if necessary.}

_{Longarm lighted a cheroot and waited patiently for the helper to get around to unloading luggage from the boot on the back of the coach and from the rack up top. Longarm’s bag and saddle were in the roof rack and likely would be among the last things off. He really hadn’t needed to be in any hurry to leave the coach. He yawned again and watched the men—pity there hadn’t been any women traveling the route this trip—climb stiffly down to the ground. They’d all been cooped up inside the coach for the past four hours, ever since the last change of horses.}

_{“ ... talked ’er down t’ forty cents,” one of the men was saying to his traveling companion, “but at that she got the best o’ me ’cause she had the clap.”}

_{Longarm looked off down the street. Not that there was so very much to see in Silver Creek. The mining camp was raw and ugly, but busy with almost frantic activity as men rushed to claw as much treasure from the earth as they could before the next man beat them to it.}

_{Mining claims only protected a man so far because if two outfits claimed different outcroppings of the same vein, the one who dug the quickest was the one who would be allowed to dig the most. Once they met somewhere underground they would both be out of business and looking for a fresh strike.}

_{The half-finished stores, many of them still with canvas tenting material for roofs, were doing a booming trade, and freight rigs rumbled up and down the wide main street like a horde of gigantic scurrying ants.}