“Well, if you stay in these parts for a while, I’m sure we will meet again,” E.B. said. “Will you be staying here for a while? Uh, not that it is any of my business,” he added quickly.
“I’m not sure how long I will be here,” Matt said. “But I would like to ask you something. You mentioned a man by the name of Denbigh. Who is he?” Matt remembered that Denbigh was the name mentioned in John Bryce’s letter.
“He is an Englishman, Lord Nigel Cordell Denbigh,” E.B. said.
“
“There aren’t. But he makes anyone who works for him call him Lord. And if you want to do business with him, you also call him Lord.”
“When I first rode up, you asked if I rode for Denbigh. What made you think that?”
“I’m sorry I accused you. Just a little spooked, I guess.”
“Have you had any run-ins with him?”
“Not directly,” E.B. said.
“Except for what happened when you joined Mr. McCann and the others to try and force your way through the tollgate,” Sue said. “Frank Tanner was killed.”
“Like I said, that wasn’t a direct run-in with Denbigh. That was a run-in with some of his men.”
“It’s the same thing,” Sue said. “And after all, his collecting a toll is why we don’t go to church anymore,” Sue said.
“You said something a moment ago about it costing you two dollars to go to town and another two dollars to come back,” Matt said. “Is that what you were talking about? A toll?”
“In order to go into town you have to take the Ellendale Road and it goes right through the middle of Denbigh’s property,” E.B. said. “He has men positioned there to charge you a toll.”
“It isn’t his road,” Sue said. “Ellendale Highway is a public road, laid out by the Territory of Dakota. Mr. Bryce wrote about it in his paper. He said the road was constructed by the Territory of Dakota as a public thoroughfare to which people should have clear and unfettered access. I guess we should be thankful to him that he doesn’t charge a toll for the young people who have to go into town to go to school. If he did, that would be two dollars per day, and we couldn’t afford it.”
“Oh, yes, Denbigh is a very compassionate man,” Sue said sarcastically.
“I’m not takin’ up for him, Sue. I’m just sayin’ we should be thankful he doesn’t charge the kids who are going to school.”
“We don’t need to be thankful to him for anything,” Sue replied resolutely.
“If the road is public, Denbigh has no right to charge anyone a toll, even if the road does run through his property. Why doesn’t the sheriff do something about it?” Matt asked.
“The sheriff is down in Ellendale, and he doesn’t pay that much attention to what goes on in Fullerton. Fact is, he doesn’t pay that much attention to anything that goes on in the whole valley. Denbigh pretty much has Elm Valley all staked out for his ownself. In fact, he not only controls the valley, he just about controls the whole county.”
“How can he do that? Doesn’t Fullerton have a mayor, city council, or marshal?”
“Mayor Felker is a businessman and so are all the people who are on the city council, and Denbigh bein’ their biggest customer, they don’t want to do anything that would piss him off.”
“E.B., mind your language!” Sue said sharply.
“Sorry, Sue, but that’s the way it is, and you know it. Like I said, the sheriff don’t pay no attention to what goes on up here, and Marshal Tipton isn’t goin’ to do anything unless he has the backin’ of the mayor and the city council. What we need is someone with a little gumption.”
“Like the newspaperman,” Sue said.
“Yes, but all he has done is write articles about it. We need more than words. Words don’t mean anything to someone like Butrum.”
“Butrum? Who is Butrum?” Matt asked.
“Ollie Butrum is the one who killed Frank Tanner, and the two cowboys that Green was talking about a moment ago,” E.B. said. “He is a paid killer for Denbigh. He is the ugliest, most dried-up little runt you ever saw in your life. In the real world, he would be someone you wouldn’t give a second look to. But this isn’t the real world, and Butrum has everyone terrified.”
“We seen him kill the two cowboys,” Green said.
“Green is right,” E.B. said. “We went into town for supplies and were unwilling witnesses to it. Two young men challenged Butrum and he killed them both.”
“He’s real fast,” Green said. “He’s the fastest I’ve ever seen.”
Despite himself, E.B. chuckled. “And you have seen so many,” he said.
“He must be pretty good if he took on two at the same time,” Matt suggested.
“There is nothing good about that evil little man,” Sue said, hissing the words in a way that showed her revulsion of the man.
“Have you ever shot anybody with your gun?” Green asked.
“Green!” Sue scolded sharply.
“It’s all right, Mrs. Fowler,” Matt said. “Young boys are curious about such things, I know that.”
