Speed had just finished thumbing through the new circulars that had arrived with the morning stage. Nothing he needed to worry about, most of the wants were eastern Montana, or to the south, but there were a couple of wants that might be close to hand, meaning they could well be in the area. He would be on the alert for them, so he posted those posters on the board they had for that purpose.

 Getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee, when he looked out the window, as he often did, he stopped cold. It was Elias Steelgrave and six of his men were at the saloon, tying their horses and stepping up on the porch of the Stardust Saloon. He set the cup down and stepped toward the door, taking his hat from the hat rack and pulling down the back of it as he set it on his head.

This could be trouble, and trouble of the worst kind. Though he had no reports of trouble with Evergreen hands, that meant nothing. That Elias was in town, which was rare, was a concern enough. He looked at the rifle rack a moment, considering the Greener eight-gauge coach gun, then decided that walking in with a scatter gun might not be the best idea. He stepped out of his office and then through the front door to pause on the boardwalk, as did many other people, and, what he was seeing, word of Steelgrave's arrival was spreading fast.

He remained in front of his office watching. No one was going near the front of the Stardust, which was probably a good idea, and at the moment, there was no reason to move from where he was, leaning against a support post for the second-floor balcony, keeping an eye on the batwing doors. There was no telling what might happen inside, but so long as there was no gunfire or sounds related to a fist fight, he was good where he was.

Then, across the street, four men moved slowly toward the saloon, but stopped in front ofGuyer's business two doors down from the Stardust. Santee, Banister, the breed Fraiser, and Dex McKenny all nodded toward him, which told him that Doc Gilcrest was at the hospital, or nearby, keeping watch.

Several of the townsfolk gathered near him and began posing questions about Steelgrave and his men. Marta Sidel came up to him asking, "Why don't you arrest them?"

"Because they haven't broken any laws, Marta. And maybe they won't, but then that is up to them." He replied, and there was more of the same coming at him, and his answers were the same. Steelgrave and his men had every right to be in the saloon or any other business in town. But what was it they were doing in there? That was his question. They came for a reason. Everyone knew the rumors that Elias had bought the whorehouse, was that what this was all about?