High Lonesome (ePub)

Evil exists because good people don't want to see it. For the residents of Portales, that is what they did. It took a gunfight to put a stop to the debauchery that plagued the small town. Jewels Davis is in prison, and his son, Jefferson, hasn't been seen for some time. An uneasy calm has come over Doc Strafford. His plan is finally coming to fruition. He is now mayor and has a sheriff to protect the citizens and the new businesses coming to town.

A detective from the Pinkertons comes in on horseback, and the sheriff detains him, wanting to know who he is. Waldo Emerson announces he is investigating a train robbery. Doc gets in on the tail end of the conversation and informs him he hadn't heard about any train robberies. Over pie and coffee, Detective Emerson confides that women were being abducted from the trains and sold off to the highest bidder. Technically a train robbery, and Jewels and Jefferson Davis were behind it.

A man named Emit Carlson arrives on the train. He has a deed and claim to the saloon that Jewels Davis operated out of. He demands Doc to surrender to his demands and hand over the property. His intentions are to resume selling cheap whiskey and loose women. Carlson has the backing of a United States Congressman and a group called the Network. Carlson believes he can intimidate Doc with his bullying. That was his first mistake.