“State and territorial law enforcement agencies are nothing new, gentlemen. Why, they are more established than private detective agencies, and we all know the legitimacy of private detective agencies. Railroads routinely hire private detective agencies. In fact, during the war, the United States government hired the Pinkerton Agency, and by so doing, put the imprimatur of the federal government on such agencies so that the precedent was set. And that is exactly what we have done, here.”
“So what you are saying is, these men are Pinkertons?” Allen asked.
“No, as much as I would like to, I’m afraid that the Pinkerton Agency would charge us way too much. They have established a name for themselves, you see, and they are quite willing to trade upon that name. However, fortunately for us, we don’t have to. With the governor’s authority, and the funding you grant me, these men that I shall assemble will be perfect for us.”
“What do you mean by the funding we are to give you?” Lewis asked. “You’ve been telling us for this entire meeting that these men will be territorial deputies. Now, if the governor has authorized this, won’t he also be funding it?”
Houser shook his head. “I’m afraid not, gentlemen,” he replied. “Whereas the governor was able to provide me with the legal authority to form a group to serve our needs, he is not able, as a governor, to make funding available. That, I fear, would require legislative action. And we simply do not have time for that. We are going to have to come up with the money from our own resources.”
“How much is it going to cost us?” Lewis asked.
“I think twenty-five hundred dollars apiece would get the job done,” Houser replied.
There were a couple of low whistles.
“Must the subscription be so high?” Dakota asked. “Two thousand and five hundred dollars is quite a significant amount.”
“The loss of as few as one hundred cows would cost even more, so I ask you, how much have you lost to cattle rustlers since this outbreak began?” Houser asked. “A better question might be, how many more will you lose if we don’t do whatever it takes to stop it now?”
“Yes, I suppose if you put it that way, there may be some justification in such a steep assessment,” Dakota said. “All right, I’ll go along with it.”
“I will, too,” Barnes added.
Within a moment, every rancher but Duff had made a commitment of $2,500 to what was being called the territorial deputies.
“Captain MacCallister, we haven’t heard from you, sir,” Houser said. “Am I to understand that you have no intention of contributing your fair share to the protection of our interests?”
“Aye, your understanding is correct. I’ll nae be contributing to the fund,” Duff replied.
“If you don’t pay for it, how do you expect us to provide Sky Meadow with protection against rustlers?”
“Oh, I’ll nae be looking for such protection,” Duff said. “As ye have already pointed out, ’tis unlikely anyone will be stealing m’ Angus cattle.”
“Captain MacCallister, I wish you would change your mind. Things always seem to go better when neighbors work together,” Houser said.
“Aye,” Duff agreed. “But these same wee ranchers that you’re about to make war against are also my neighbors and friends. They are nae rustlers ’n scoundrels. Most have families, ’n ’tis only their wish to make a living for themselves.”
“As I stated earlier, I’m the first to admit that not every small rancher is rustling cattle,” Houser said. “But don’t you see? That’s the purpose of putting our special agents into the field. They’ll be able to tell us who is, and who isn’t, rustling. And look at it this way. The small ranchers who are innocent will be getting the same protection as the rest of us, only they won’t have to be paying for it.”
“Why not?” Allen asked. “Why shouldn’t they pay for it?”
“It is precisely for that reason that I did not invite them to this meeting,” Houser replied. “It is called the noblesse oblige.”
“The what?”
“The obligation of the nobility to act honorably and generously to those less fortunate. We are not, strictly speaking, nobility. But, as the larger and more successful ranchers in the valley, we do carry the burden of looking out for the smaller ranchers who could ill afford the two-thousand-and-five-hundred-dollar subscription it would take to enroll them in the program. As Captain MacCallister has pointed out, and correctly, I must add, many of the small ranchers are honest people. I wouldn’t want to embarrass them by asking them for money they can ill afford, and I don’t think any of you would, either.”
“You’re a good man, Mr. Houser,” David Lewis said. “I hope the smaller ranchers realize what you are doing for them.”
“What we are doing for them,” Houser corrected.
“Mr. Houser, you have stated that the governor appointed someone special to head up this constabulary that you are forming, but you haven’t told us who he might be,” Dakota said. He pointed to Shamrock. “May I take it that the person of whom you speak is this gentleman that none of us seem to know?”
Houser smiled. “I’m glad you brought that up. Stand up, Paul,” he said.
Shamrock remained seated.
“Paul?” Houser said again, staring directly at Shamrock.
“Me?”
“Yes, Paul, you,” Houser said.
“Oh.” Shamrock stood.
“Gentlemen, this is Paul Harris. And as I stated, he holds a direct commission from Governor Morgan, as captain of the territorial law enforcement deputies. And whereas my commission is administrative, Captain Harris’s commission is operative. He will be responsible for carrying out any actual investigation and law enforcement. By the way, in as far as the cattle rustling problem is concerned, Captain Harris’s authority supersedes that of Sheriff Sharpie’s, or any other lawman in the territory. He and his deputies will end our rustling problem.”
“You have said that the constabulary is yet to be formed. Will you assemble them from among out own county citizens?” Dakota asked.
“No, they will not be local. Captain Harris needs men who
