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the Trailsman.
    As Fargo sipped the brandy, Grayson traced the route on the map with a blunt fingertip. ‘‘I have coaches parked in a wagon yard here in town, ready to go,’’ he said. ‘‘Whoever takes one up the coast first will have a leg up on the competition. That’s why I’d like for you to lead it through, Mr. Fargo, and I’ll pay well if you agree to do so.’’
    Fargo frowned and said, ‘‘Wait a minute. I thought you were just looking for someone to lay out the route. I didn’t know you were planning to make a run right now.’’
    Grayson nodded. ‘‘Absolutely. What better way to prove it can be done in a timely and efficient manner?’’
    ‘‘You realize there’s some pretty wild country between here and there? Until the route is laid out, and a road cleared and graded in places, a coach might run into some danger.’’
    ‘‘I know there’s a risk. There usually is when you’re talking about doing something worthwhile.’’
    Fargo couldn’t argue with that. The job Grayson described was a little bigger than Fargo had reckoned on, though. It wasn’t just a scouting chore. Whoever led that coach up the coast would be responsible for getting it where it was going, safe and sound.
    The door to the adjoining room opened. Belinda came in wearing a conservative dark blue dress that made her look more her age, rather than younger, as the colorful Mexican garb had done. She was no less attractive for that, though.
    ‘‘Have you and Mr. Fargo come to an arrangement yet, Father?’’ she asked.
    ‘‘I think he’s still pondering on it,’’ Grayson said.
    Fargo nodded. ‘‘That’s right.’’
    Belinda came over to Fargo and said, ‘‘Father has told you that one of our coaches will be going up the coast right away, as the route is being determined?’’
    ‘‘He has.’’
    ‘‘Will it help you make up your mind to know that I intend to be one of the passengers on that coach?’’
    ‘‘Blast it, Belinda,’’ her father said. ‘‘You know I haven’t agreed to that.’’
    ‘‘I know you’re planning to go, and I’m not going to let you go alone.’’
    ‘‘I’d feel a lot better about everything if I knew you were safe here in Los Angeles.’’
    So would Fargo. Grayson’s plans were already turning out to be more of a challenge than he had anticipated. The addition of both Belinda and Grayson as passengers on the first coach would just make things more difficult.
    But at the same time, what he had just learned made it more difficult for Fargo to refuse Grayson’s offer. Grayson was determined to go through with his plans whether Fargo agreed to help or not; Fargo could tell that from the man’s attitude.
    Without an experienced scout and guide such as himself, the stagecoach trip up the coast would be even more dangerous for everyone involved. Could he turn his back on that situation and let things proceed without doing everything he could to help?
    Fargo knew the answer to that question.
    ‘‘Neither of you should go along,’’ he said, doubting that his advice would change their minds. ‘‘And you shouldn’t send a coach up there until the whole route has been laid out and prepared.’’
    Grayson shook his head. ‘‘I can’t wait. If I do, Stoddard will beat me to it. He’ll get the mail contracts, the delivery contracts, the passengers. He’ll have the whole thing clutched right in his greedy fist.’’
    Fargo could have made the argument that Grayson wanted to get the jump on Stoddard, just as Stoddard wanted to beat him to the punch. Neither man had any sort of moral right to be first in this game.
    But Stoddard was the one who had resorted to kidnapping a young woman to get what he wanted, or at least trying to. Fargo’s instincts told him that while Grayson would fight hard to win, he would also fight fair.
    ‘‘What do you say, Mr. Fargo?’’ Grayson asked. ‘‘I hate to put pressure on you like this, but I need your help if I’m