"What I want you to do is get down to Ellensburg and get on the telegraph," Ben said. "Find out where that thing is. And on the way, study the road. Figure out where the trouble spots are going to be. Maybe we can save time by doing some grading, building a bridge or two."
Tesno agreed grumpily, wondering why Ben couldn't send somebody else. When Ben had left, he dressed leisurely and went down to the restaurant for a late breakfast. The thought of the long ride and several days away from Tunneltown didn't appeal to him. He lingered for a time over coffee and a cigar, wondering at his own reluctance to get started, thinking that he might stop by and see Persia before he left.
He had returned to his room and was shaving when Whisky Willie came in. Willie turned a chair around backwards and straddled it.
"That Madrid p-p-protects crooks," he asserted.
Tesno beat up a lather in his shaving cup. "For instance?"
"There was this feller b-bucking the t-tiger in the P-Pink Lady. He called me over real polite and orderly and said the dealer was double-dealing and that he could prove it by the case board. Before you could say J-J-Jack R-R-Robinson, Pinky had him by one arm and a barkeep had him by the other and he was out in the s-street. Nobody paid any at-t-tention to me. I told Madrid about it. He cussed me and said we leave the dealers alone."
"Which table was this?"
"S-second from the d-door. The d-dealer's name's Cardona."
Tesno stropped his razor vigorously. "A mechanic. He uses an odd-even setup."
"A what?"