Longarm and the Colorado gundown

_{Bevvy leaned out and peered ahead. “I can see the town lights. Less than a mile to go. Everybody get ready now.” Somewhere ahead the engineer—under close guard and thorough instruction—closed his throttle and passed a signal for the brakemen to tighten their wheels. The entire inventory of rolling stock belonging to the Silver Creek, Tipson, and Glory Narrow Gauge Rail Road began to slow for its arrival in Tipson.}

_{All they had to do to find the smelter was to follow their noses. Literally. The place stank of sulfuric acid and wood smoke. Wood, not coal. The difference was important, Longarm knew. Trying to operate a smelter without coal—which couldn’t be hauled in until or unless the railroad was put through; wood was a resource that was quickly exhausted in the vicinity of any mining town—was a makeshift proposition. A desperation gamble that the people there believed would pay off, now that they had their own ore concentrates to process, plus whatever they could steal from Snowshoe and the other high-mountain towns.}

_{“Quiet now. Let’s do this easy if we can,” Longarm cautioned.}

_{He guided the posse—at this point it was his posse, not Police Chief Bevvy’s, and had to remain so for purposes of jurisdiction since Bevvy had no authority there and would not have until Longarm’s suspicions were confirmed—into position surrounding the Tipson smelter.}

_{Despite the late hour the smelter was operating at full speed. Smoke poured from its chimneys. The inside of the big, bamlike structure was alive with light and noise and noxious fumes. Longarm’s nose wrinkled as he approached the door. “I’ll go in first, Boo. You cover me and give the signal for the rest of them to rush in if anything happens.”}

_{Bevvy nodded.}

_{Longarm stood outside for one moment longer. He held his badge displayed in the palm of his left hand where}

_{anyone could see. His right hand held his Colt revolver. “Ready.”}

_{“Go,” Bevvy said.}

_{Longarm kicked the door open and stepped through.}

_{“Freeze! United States marshals here. No one gets hurt unless you start it.”}

_{The two guards who were supposed to prevent unauthorized entry were caught flat-footed. So were the workmen who were within sight or hearing of the door.}