“I don’t know. I’ve got a guess—several of ’em.”
“For instance?”
“Is Sam Dutch living here?”
“Yep. He’s the handy man of the Dodsons—camp bouncer, killer, mine jumper, general all-round thug.”
“The Dodsons are the big moguls here, seems to me from what I hear.”
“They come clost to it—own the Standard Union and the Katie Brackett, have a controllin’ interest in both stamp mills, run the stage line an’ the Mammoth saloon.”
“And the big store, Dodson & Dodson. They own that, I reckon.”
“Yep, an’ the building it’s in. Fact is, they’ve got title to half the lots in town.”
“They’re a sweet pair.”
“Sure are. Run the politics, too. The sheriff’s their property. The job’s worth twenty thousand a year, an’ they elected him. Course he’s good an’ grateful. Why shouldn’t he be?”