"You cleaned up Spokane Falls."
"Sure, with a sizable group of decent businessmen to back me up. I'd guess there are precious few of those in Tunneltown."
Ben smiled mirthlessly. "You looked it over?"
"I ran into Pinky Bronklin and that candy-striped marshal."
"Madrid? He made a reputation as an express guard on the OR & N. Killed two bandits who tried to rob his car."
"I've heard the story," Tesno said. "I also heard they were half-frozen hoboes looking for a place to get warm."
Ben nodded grimly, then he spread his palms above the littered tabletop. "I'm not asking for miracles, Jack. I'll settle for midnight closing, no Sunday sales, no sales to drunks. Get rid of the knockout-drop artists and the drunk rollers. And the gambling. It causes as much trouble as the booze. There's a territorial statute that forbids casino gambling, but the county sheriff is the nearest law officer—sixty miles away at Ellensburg. The best he could do was agree to deputize any troublebuster I hire."
"Damned if I'll ride down there just to get a badge."
"Suit yourself. I'll put you on the payroll as of tomorrow."
"I figure to start tonight," Tesno said.