One whispered something.
Another laughed.
The woman heard enough to understand that they were discussing her.
She kept walking.
The cowboy's expression darkened.
But she gently touched his arm.
“Don't.”
He looked at her.
“Don't what?”
“Fight a man every time he opens his mouth.”
The cowboy glanced toward the saloon.
“That's going to require considerable restraint.”
She smiled.
“Then consider it practice.”
He laughed despite himself.
The county records office occupied two rooms in a brick building beside the courthouse.
Inside, shelves held enormous ledgers and bundles of aging documents.
A clerk with round spectacles listened as the woman explained her request.
At first, he seemed skeptical.
Then she opened her inventory.
She identified the original recording dates, the names of previous landholders, and the approximate location of the tract.
The clerk's expression changed.
He began searching through the records.
Nearly an hour later, he found the first relevant entry.
The property had been recorded as part of an old family holding.
A later notation indicated that the woman's mother had inherited a specific interest.
Additional documents suggested that the interest had passed through her estate.
But the clerk warned that the current extent of her rights required further examination.
The woman nodded.
She had expected that.
She asked for certified copies of the relevant records.
Then she inquired about water filings connected with North Creek.
The clerk looked toward the cowboy.
“There's been quite a dispute over those.”
The cowboy folded his arms.
“So I've heard.”
The clerk hesitated.
Then he lowered his voice.
“A freight syndicate wants to build a new loading station near the northern crossing. They'd need reliable water access for the operations they're proposing.”
The woman looked interested.
“What freight syndicate?”
The clerk named a company associated with the merchant.
She exchanged a glance with the cowboy.
The clerk continued.
“They've been acquiring land along the creek. Most of the owners sold without much trouble.”
The woman looked down at her documents.
“And my mother's property?”
The clerk examined the map.
“It's near a narrow bend where the creek runs through a rocky channel.”
He pointed.