Wildstar

Riley raised his head sharply. "How?"

"Never mind how right now. What would you do?"

"Even then—" He shook his head. "It wouldn't matter now. This last trick of Burke's 'll break me. Do you know how much it'd take to dig out and rebuild?"

Devlin sipped his coffee before he answered thought­fully, "Both tunnels are still standing and probably struc­turally sound. The major damage was done at the mouth. I'd say a few thousand should do it."

Riley snorted. "Might as well go wishing on stars. I couldn't even raise five hundred."

"I'd be willing to supply you the working capital to re­build."

The other man's brows drew together in a frown. When he looked as if he was about to refuse, Devlin added ca­sually, "And another fifty thousand to get your operation in a position where you can compete with the other con­solidated mining outfits."

"Where," Riley said slowly, "in the name of Pete would you get that kind of money?"

He smiled at the suspicion in the older man's tone. "I

haven't robbed a bank, if that's what worries you. Have you heard of the Homestake Syndicate?"

"You mean the Black Hills' Homestake? Who hasn't heard of it?"

"I was in the Dakota Territory in '77 and bought into the Homestake. I own a small interest."

Riley simply stared. "You own part of the largest gold mine in the country?"

"A small part."

"How small?"

"Enough to make me a millionaire several times over."

Riley's slow exhalation was long and loud.

"I just have one question," he said finally. "If you're so blamed rich, then what on God's green earth are you doing here?"

"I followed a lead. The man I killed last week—Zeke McRoy—was rumored to be running with an outlaw gang from this territory."

Keeping the story short, Devlin told the older man about the robberies of the Colorado Central and his own determi­nation to stop them.

Riley nodded. "I heard about those holdups. Had a lot of folks here real upset. But that still doesn't explain why you ever let Jess talk you into guarding our mine in the first place. You sure don't need the money, like I first thought."

"Have you ever tried to say no to your daughter? I don't think she understands the word."

Riley smiled briefly, for the first time that day. "I see your point."

"Besides, my hiring on with you gave me a good reason to ask around about McRoy without raising eyebrows."

"You sure picked the hard way to ask questions."

"I suppose so."

Draining the last of his coffee, Devlin went to the stove and poured himself another cup. When he held up the pot, Riley shook his head. He still looked somewhat dazed, as if he didn't know quite how to act after all the revelations he'd heard. Devlin decided now was the time to speak up.

Settling himself at the table again, he met Riley's gaze. "You have at least one other option I'd like you to con­sider. Instead of selling out to Burke, you could let me buy in."

"What," Riley said cautiously, "did you have in mind?"

"A simple transaction. I propose that you sell me a quarter interest of the Wildstar mine for say, fifty thousand dollars. That should give you the working capital to re­build and to increase your crew size to two shifts, plus cover the expense of expanding your tunnels for the first year or so."