Ironhorse

72

“Sam, this last switch, in the south mountain pass this telegram’s referring to,” Virgil asked. “Where is this, exactly?”

“Let me show you,” Sam said.

Sam moved to a large map on the wall next to the desk. The map was detailed and colorful but faded. It showed the river and townships along the winding St. Louis & San Fran route, from Paris to Fort Smith.

Sam pointed.

“Here we are here,” she said, “at Half Moon, and this is where the pass is here, and the last switch the wire is referring to is here.”

“How many telegraph terminals are there in Tall Water Falls?” I asked.

“One at the depot and another in town, at the Western Union office,” Jenny said.

“Do you correspond with the Western Union?” I asked.

“Every now and then,” Jenny said. “But mainly our correspondence is with the depot.”

“Does it seem like this wire might have been transmitted from that Western Union office?” I asked.

“I’m not completely sure,” Jenny said. “But I don’t think so. I think it is from someplace, a weaker location.”

“Are there remote terminals on the line for service and repair?” Virgil asked.

“There are, but I don’t actually know where,” Jenny said and looked to Sam. “Do you?”

Sam shook her head with the corners of her mouth turned down.

“No,” Sam said. “Hard enough for me to keep up with all the train cars I have to push and pull around here. You’d have to ask one of the telegraph superintendents, or linemen.”

“Regardless,” Hobbs said, “it’s imperative these demands are taken seriously, is it not?”

I looked to Virgil, who was looking at the map.

“This Richard the Third, not wanting us past the switch, is operating from Tall Water Falls, or somewhere near Tall Water Falls,” I said.

“That sounds right,” Virgil said.

Virgil moved closer to the map, looking it over.

“What is all this in here?” Virgil said.

Virgil pointed to a spot on the map above the pass where a bunch of X marks appeared across what looked to be a mountain ridge.

“That’s the Division City mines,” Sam said. “Or what is left of them.”

“The mines recently shut down,” Berkeley said. “The companies moved and are operating the fields down this way now, toward Half Moon.”

“What kind of telegraph activity is there in Division City?” Virgil asked.

“Gosh, quite a lot,” Jenny said. “Well, there are a number of telegraph offices there. Division City is a big place with a good number of businesses and factories there.”

“What about these mines?” Virgil asked. “Are there telegraph offices in the mines?”

“There were,” Jenny said. “There used to be a lot of activity from the mines, but like Mr. Berkeley was saying, they shut down.”

Virgil stood looking at the map with his arms crossed over the buttons of his vest.

“Marshal,” the governor asked. “What are you thinking?”

Virgil moved a little closer to the map and made a circle with his finger in an area around where the pass switch was located.

“They’re operating from somewhere in this area,” Virgil said.

“Which means this crazy man could be anywhere near there?” Hobbs said.

Virgil pointed to the X’s marking the mines.

“You say these mines near Tall Water Falls,” Virgil said, “are called the Division City mines?”

“They are. Even though those mines appear closer to Tall Water Falls here on the map,” Berkeley said. “There is a mountain ridge there, and those mines are accessed from Division City way.”

“Unless you’re a mule,” I said.