Lords of the Plains by Paul Bedford

Author:Paul Bedford [Bedford, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Darkness was falling by the time we reached Omaha, a fact that suited my purpose entirely. Whilst waiting for Dan to return, I had given our situation a deal of thought. Unfortunately, the negative aspects of it far outweighed the positive. We had survived our first mission for the Union Pacific’s Chief Engineer, and had a box of Double Eagles to show for it, but sadly I no longer knew whom I could trust. And that included General Dodge!

Pitch torches flared in the street, and oil lamps flickered in the massive Cozzens House Hotel as we rode the buggy over to the livery stables that it had been hired from. The illumination favoured the frontier city with a warm glow that was entirely missing from my soul. I was beginning to formulate a plan of sorts, but felt myself to be inundated with potential enemies on all sides.

Luckily for us, the arrival of the Union Pacific had changed Omaha irrevocably. It was now a bustling city of well over twenty thousand souls, and growing all the time. Seven steamboats were permanently employed on the Missouri River, bringing in rolling stock, supplies and ever more workers. All of this meant that anyone searching for us would have their work cut out. It was also a fact that for some people, simple needs always took priority.

‘I sure could use a drink of Old Red Eye,’ Dan announced with feeling. ‘It cuts through the dust better than all that damn river water I swallowed.’

‘Well, you might just have to wait a little bit longer for that,’ I responded regretfully. ‘We need to keep our heads down until I figure out what to do.’ Seeing his disappointment, I added, ‘It sure is a shame we didn’t get to remain in that stateroom, because I guess we’ll be sleeping in the livery tonight, but we’ll send a stable hand out to fetch a jug. How’s that sound?’

His great beaming smile was acknowledgement enough, and despite the situation I had no option but to return it. Although he left all the decisions to me, I couldn’t have wanted for a better companion than Dan Sturgis. More than ever, I felt glad to have retained his friendship after our disagreement back at the railhead.

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