Earl leaned forward. 'And that is?'
'I found this cigarette butt in a corral up on the mountain. I can't say for sure, but I'm confident that it was smoked by one of the train robbers.'
Longarm showed Earl the unusual cigarette paper. 'Have you ever seen anything like it before?'
Earl did not deign to touch the cigarette butt, but his eyebrows jerked upward and when he glanced up at Longarm, his face was animated with excitement. 'That's a British cigarette. It's called Royal Crown. It's rather expensive, and the tobacco is said to be of the highest quality. You won't find a working cowboy buying those cigarettes.'
'Where can they be bought?'
'At certain tobacco shops. They would be sold at a tobacco shop in Cheyenne, and there are two tobacconists who sell them in Denver.'
'I see.' Longarm studied the butt. 'Look, Earl, if you see anyone smoking these things, I want to know about it right away.'
'We always have a few guests here who smoke Royal Crown cigarettes. But I'd not want them to be... accosted.'
'I promise I'll be discreet. They'll likely never even realize I was investigating their whereabouts on the night that train was wrecked.'
Longarm leaned forward across the desk. 'Earl, you know that I'm not a wealthy man but that I am generous.'
'You have always been very generous to us. You are one of my favorite guests. I mean that in all honesty.'
Longarm knew that this was going to cost him thirty or forty dollars, but if the broken horseshoe proved to be a dead-end trail, this was his only hope and it was no time to be pinching pennies.
'I'll continue to be generous,' Longarm said, patting Earl's shoulder. 'Now, if I could have a room and a hot bath?'
'At once. At once!'
Longarm dined in the hotel that night and he ate very, very well. Buffalo steak, sourdough bread, fresh trout sauteed in mushrooms, asparagus, and a peach cobbler with cool, sweet cream. Longarm even allowed himself to finish off the meal with a good cigar and two glasses of French brandy.
'I haven't eaten so well,' he confessed to the waiter, 'since I was here last. Compliments to Chef Pierre.'
'He knows it is you, Mr. Long, and so he made everything extra special.'
'He did indeed.'
The waiter beamed, and Longarm settled back with contentment. He'd been shaved, and was wearing a fresh change of clothes and underwear. He almost felt civilized, and was in no hurry to leave the warm and pleasant surroundings where he had spent many a happy evening.
'Hello!' the woman purred, leaning over the table so that the upper portions of her large breasts dangled like overripe melons. 'My dear, dear deputy. I didn't expect you to be back so soon!'
'Well, Milly,' he replied, 'neither did I. But there was this train wreck on the mountain just to the east of us, and ever since my life has sort of gone to hell.'
'You look pretty happy right now.' Milly slid into the chair and laid a familiar hand on Longarm 's muscular thigh. 'I think that I can make you look even happier with almost no effort at all.'
'Milly, you vixen!'
'Buy me a drink?'
'Sure.'
Longarm ordered them both brandy, and then he told Milly about the train wreck, Eli Wheat's escape, and the manhunt.
'And you think they are hidin in Laramie?'
'At least some of them, but probably not all.'
'If they have money, they might be coming my way,' she said. 'Tell me how I would know they are the ones you want.'
Longarm told her the same things that he had told Sheriff Cotton and Earl. 'You need to keep a sharp eye out for that cigarette paper and for the money.'
'I always watch for money, you know that.'
'Yeah, I know. That's why I've always wondered why you waste time with a poor federal lawman.'
Milly's hand slipped higher until it rested over Longarm's flaccid manhood. 'You know why I don't think spending time with you is wasted. Or do I have to remind you right now?'
'Stop it.' He laughed, feeling himself start to swell. 'I'm not up to that tonight and you need to be circulating. The men I seek might well be just passing through. I can't catch them if I'm making love with you.'
'What a shame.' Milly sighed. 'Well, then I had better get to work. There are guests here tonight who have both time and money.'
'Look for those Royal Crown cigarettes and let me know what you find.'
'I will,' Milly promised. 'But I can't imagine some rich Englishman riding with a gang of train robbers.'
