The Railroad War by Wesley Ellis

“They’re both men your boss has sent here, aren’t they?”
    â€œYes,” she admitted reluctantly. “But they were just mean drunk yesterday, Ki! It wouldn’t have mattered who was passing by, they’d still have tried to make trouble!”
    Ki’s questions had confirmed his suspicions. By now he was convinced that the mysterious Frank Jeffers was an agent of the cartel. He was also sure that Cheri did not even suspect the existence of the sinister organization, and knew nothing of her boss’s connection with it. He concluded that it was time to follow the lead she’d unwittingly given him, and concentrate on Jeffers.
    â€œI suppose you’re right,” he said, his voice casual. “But I think I’ll keep the job I’ve got. You can see there’d always be trouble if I tried work on the same job with two men I had that run-in with yesterday.”
    Cheri nodded, frowning thoughtfully. “Yes. Yes, I can see that, Ki.” Her frown deepened and she went on, “I hope you’re not just going to disappear now. You aren‘t, are you?”
    â€œOf course not. But I do have to leave.”
    â€œNot right this minute, though,” she said. “Even if you’re wide awake by now, I promised—”
    Ki caught her wrist as Cheri reached for him, and said, “We can let your promise wait until next time, Cheri. I have work to do, and I’d hate to be responsible for your neglecting the saloon and getting into trouble with your boss.”
    â€œBut you promise there’ll be a next time?”
    â€œOf course.” Ki rolled off the bed and started dressing. He went on, “I’ll be back looking for you very soon.”
    Cheri had lain back on the bed when Ki got up. She fought back a yawn before saying, “You can’t come back too soon, Ki. I can’t remember knowing a man who’s made me feel as good as I do now.” This time she yawned without trying to suppress it. “Ki, you won’t have any trouble finding your way out, will you? I’ve just got to have a little nap before I go to work.”
    â€œSleep, then,” Ki told her. “I can let myself out all right.”
    Cheri was asleep before Ki left the room. He crossed the silk-draped chamber, going unerringly to the door. His mind was still on Cheri. He was thinking that he felt almost as relaxed as she did, and he was smiling as he opened the outer door and stepped onto the tiny, dark landing. Had be been as alert as usual, less relaxed, Ki’s cat-quick reflexes might have saved him, but the almost inaudible scraping of boot soles on the board floor of the landing came only a split second before the blackjack struck his head. Without a sound, Ki crumpled to the floor.
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    â€œWe’re just wasting our time poking through stuff in this dusty basement,” Captain Tinker told Jessie. “This courthouse wasn’t even built when I handed out most of those deeds. The county just had a littled shed on the back of the square, then. That jackass, Zeke Carter, might be telling the truth when he says he doesn’t know anything about them.”
    â€œThen why are some pages missing from those bound recordbooks the law requires him to keep?” Jessie asked.
    â€œPeople aren’t always careful, Jessie. Clerks before this one might’ve spoiled some entries, spilled ink on the pages, or something like that.”
    â€œJust the same, we’ve got to keep looking,” Jessie said.
    â€œI guess we do, at that.”
    Tinker leaned his cane against the box of papers they’d just finished sorting through. Limping the few steps necessary, he went to the corner and started dragging another of the heavy wooden crates toward the area they’d cleared to work in.
    Jessie hurried to help him. They wrestled the box into the circle of light cast by the lamp on the high wooden file case, and opened its hinged lid.