“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Marshal Wheeler asked. “Of course he has friends, and you can bet they’ll be camped out beside the road to Elko just waiting to spring him.”
“Then I’ll just have to think of some other way to get him to Elko,” Longarm said.
“That might not be possible,” the marshal allowed. “This town has a lot of wagging tongues and Ford Oakley has a few IOU’s to collect.”
“I’ll need a wagon and horses,” Longarm decided. “I’ll need a wagon that won’t draw any attention and will have sides on it so I can lay that man down and he can’t be seen or heard.”
“Sounds like you need more than a buckboard.”
“I do,” Longarm said. “I’m thinking that I need something much bigger.”
“How about an ore wagon?”
“Too big.”
“I suppose a good-sized supply wagon or … how about a medicine peddler’s wagon?”
“That sounds good,” Longarm said. “How big and heavy is it?”
“It’s light enough to be pulled easily by two horses and it’s all enclosed. I had a peddler come through selling a cure-all elixir, and he drank so much of his own medicine that he died.”
“Where is this wagon?”
“It’s around behind the jail. Been sitting there about a month now, and I expect that it’s in pretty good shape. I locked it up tight so that it wouldn’t be vandalized. There’s still a couple of boxes of that fella’s elixir inside that I haven’t gotten around to pouring out yet.”
“Let’s take a look at it,” Longarm said, “if I can do that without attracting too much attention. But I can’t pay you for it and I can’t even buy horses.”
“For crying out loud!” the marshal exclaimed. “Doesn’t the federal government even give you expense money on these kinds of deals?”
“Sure,” Longarm said, “but not enough to buy a whole wagon and team of horses.”
Wheeler rubbed his jaw. “Tell you what, Gold Mountain will donate the wagon and horses.”
Longarm raised his eyebrows. “In return for?”
“A promise,” Wheeler said. “The simple promise that you will execute Ford Oakley before he discovers a way to do the same to you.”
“I can’t make that kind of promise!”
Wheeler scowled. “Then on return for your allowing my deputy to accompany you in that wagon to Elko and then on to Denver. That’s our demand, and it’s one I’m insisting on in exchange for the wagon.”
“Deputy Trout is a fool and he’d be more trouble than he’s worth.”
“Not if you get ambushed. He may not be the most intelligent or upright law officer you’ve ever worked with, Marshal Long, but he is damned good with a six-gun and he won’t hesitate to kill Oakley.”
Longarm considered this arrangement, and found it not at all to his liking. But he might indeed need some help, so he finally nodded his head in agreement. “All right.”
“Good!” Wheeler looked very relieved. “When do you want to leave?”
“Tonight.”
“That soon?”
“Sure,” Longarm said. “I have to catch that eastbound train in three days. I assume I’ll have to take some kind of a lengthy detour in order to avoid Oakley’s friends.”
“You’ll have to take a very long detour,” the marshal said. “In fact, you’ll have to go over the Ruby Mountains and then drop down into the Great Salt Lake Basin.”
“I can do that if the wagon will go over’em,” Longarm said.
“And there might be some Paiutes out there that will cause you grief,” Wheeler added. “They’re not real fighters, but they’ll steal you blind and leave you stranded if you don’t keep a close eye on your horses and all of your belongings.”
“Damn,” Longarm said, “maybe I’d just be better off taking my chances with Oakley’s friends.”
“I disagree,” the marshal said.
“All right then,” Longarm said. “Get me four of your best horses.”
“Four? Why? Two will pull that wagon.”
“I want a couple of extras just in case I have to make a run for it,” Longarm said. “I’ll leave them at the railroad’s stockyards.”
Wheeler looked worried. “You know, I’m really sticking my neck out on this. Four horses and that wagon are worth some pretty good money. If you get killed or …”
Longarm had heard enough. He went back behind the jail to look at the wagon, Wheeler running to catch up. Satisfied with what he saw, and with Wheeler’s information about the route through the Ruby Mountains, Longarm strode back to the front, went back inside the office, and sat down behind Deputy Trout’s desk. He propped his feet up on the desk and tipped his hat down over his eyes.
“Are you going to sleep?” Wheeler asked at the front door.
