"A pleasure to meet you, Captain, even under these circumstances," Phinn replied as the man grabbed his hat and proceed to leave with the final word, "And thank you for your time then. As I stated I did not want to keep you long." "And you did not sir." Phin added. 'That had been interesting.' He thought.

Much ado about the force the cavalry could bring to bear if there was just cause. Well, there would likely be 'just cause' at some point, not that anything to do with Elias Steelgrave could be predicted, but just cause? Most certainly! The man would do whatever he wanted, consequence be damned, so long as his ends were met!

Meanwhile...

Guyer threw the paper down and jerked himself out of the chair, grabbing the edition again, "What is wrong with that man?" He shouted and, grabbing his hat, slammed it on his head as he bolted out of the door. and straight for the Kalispell Union office. He saw the two soldiers turning their mounts but ignored them, his anger was boiling over which was highly unlike Speed Guyer, in any situation. He reached the office and pushed the door open as he tromped inside, slamming it behind him and rattling the glass.

"Phin for Godsake! What were you thinking? You'll have this whole town in an uproar, and I'll have to do the explaining about this!" Speed demanded. "Damn it man!"

Alright, alright, Marshal. Calm down. I will be printing a full retraction issue with what the Captain had to say, minus certain things of course, that he was not supposed to say." Phin pleaded. "But you did go to the fort to request some sort of military help from the Army, did you not?"

"I did, but certainly not for Marshal Law." Speed replied curtly.

"And I was supposed to know that, how? Speed, what was it you requested of the Army? Something, that's for sure of the Captain would not have ridden up here to deny that Marshal Law was in fact in the works."

Speed exhaled, "I asked, in light of the coming construction and the unpredictability of Elias Steelgrave that on occasion, the Colonel would route a patrol through town, that's all that was asked." Speed responded. "I don't know where you got your information, Phin, but you should have come to me and I would have told you why I went to Fort Sommers."

A sudden noise in the back of the room had both men jerk around to see the cause, Phin's printer's devil had slipped in the back door for his morning chores. "Sorry, Mister McVay."

"Tommy, race out and collect all of the papers you can find and bring them back here for the stove!" Phin ordered, and the boy was out the door in a rush. It might not do a whole lot of good, but for the moment it was all that could be done.

"That's a good start, Phin, the second edition, that should clear up the idea of placing Kalispell under Marshal Law." Speed shook his head and offered his hand, "Next time you come to me first, get the straight of it before you go to press."

"My apologies Marshal. Even though it was a question and something to get folks thinking, I was wrong, and I will admit that in print. You have my word." Phin promised.

"Fair enough Phin. See that you get that out as soon as possible." Came the reply and direction. "Good day."

Quite the morning, Captain Barlow's visit, and then a visit that was anticipated by Marshal Guyer and the straightening out of the Marshal Law issue. Tommy came in but his catch of papers was pitifully small, meaning most of the citizenry had scooped up the latest edition which could well mean the end of the paper here in Kalispell. If he lost subscriptions as well as sales, there would be no reason to remain in Kalispell.

That was a hard pill to swallow as he really liked the town and almost all of the people in it. But if the issue meant the end, then that is what it meant. It would be time to have the axles greased, refit the canvas, and begin loading up the press and all of his supplies. He had done it before, but he would not want to have to do it again.

He poured a cup of coffee and sat down at his desk, he needed to print a retraction. So he wanted to first compose it on paper, which would speed up typesetting for both him and Tommy. This one would have to be good. This one would have to be the truth, sparing his source, whom he may never trust again.

He set to work.

Rather than another edition, Phin decided on a flyer instead, There would be no need for any other items that a special edition would require, and it would serve the same purpose.

"Friends and fellow citizens of Kalispell, I am clarifying what was written in the last issue of the Union so that there is no mistake. I posed the question of Marshal Law, our Town Marshall Henry Guyer would have to go to some lengths to obtain such an order. In fact, the Territorial Governor would need to approve of such a move. It was a question what with the possible trouble that might, and I hasten to repeat might come about.

Now, it is a fact that Marshal Guyer did in fact, go to the fort to ask if, mind you, if a patrol could be routed through town on occasion during the construction of the hospital. This would help to insure the safety of the materials for the hospital, and the safety of not only the workers but the citizens of Kalispell as well.

You have my sincerest apology for any undue fears that may have arisen from the misunderstanding of the headline and the subsequent articles in the last issue.

You humble servant, I remain

Phineas G. McVay, Owner, Editor"

He looked it over, liked what he read, believing it could solve the misunderstanding, and then set to work with his Printers Devil Tommy Lane setting the type to get the flyer out.

With the leaflet printed, Tommy Lane was tasked with delivering it to every home and business in the town limits. The, to drop off substantial copies to the major businesses in town. Which would lead the young man to every house including the Boarding house of Missus Wigfall.

Towing a wagon that was stocked with leaflets held down by rocks, Tommy fulfilled the task he had been given, delivering the missives to each and every house in town.

He stopped at Misses Wigfall's Boarding House and rapped loudly on the door, holding a handful of leaflets. Enough that every boarder would have a copy. That was the idea. Every person on his route would have a copy of the public apology from Phineas McVay. For him, a humbling experience, yet a necessary one to regain the trust of his readers.

Phin sat back, all that he could do now was to relax and let things fall where they may. Perhaps after he had explained himself, the hubbub would die down. What he understood was, that people tend to only see what strikes them first, in this case, it seemed that the question mark had been missed completely in the offending headline. Well, too late to worry about that now the damage was done, and his hope was that his attempt to make amends for it would suffice.

He had not seen Sarah, or at least not much of her, though she could well be doing follow up or gathering new information for her articles for the upcoming edition. Something he might consider doing with his time, instead of worrying about that last edition's effect and results. The problem with western newspapers, was the lack of real news to print, local news that affected those in the community, and that was what his last issue had contained, or so he thought. But that seemed to have backfired on him.

He sat, swirling the coffee around in his cup thinking. And then it dawned on him, were not the building supplies on their way to Kalispell for the hospital? There was certainly a story in that, and everyone but perhaps Elias Steelgrave would find that interesting. Now the problem would be, an interview with Leah Steelgrave, but that could be managed, he hoped.