Chapter 13: Cross-Country

Leadville, Colorado might not be much more than a small town at first glance, but it supplied everything that they needed for the moment. The summer tourist season was nearly over and the snows hadn't started to fall, bringing in skiers to this part of the Rockies, but the small pawn shop cum jeweler's was more than willing to convert a part of their loot into hard cash.

"Well, Charley, what's the easiest way to get in touch with your boss?"

"Neal Marten?" Charley cocked his head to one side, considering. "Probably at one of his company headquarters. Seattle might be the best bet. Why not your own boss?"

"I don't know just who I can trust, that's why not. There's too good a chance that some of the men from my department could be mixed up with Steve Jordan's bunch. I don't even know a single one from my office I'm sure I can trust."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We ain't neither of us got any kind of ID we can show, so there's no way we can catch a plane to get there."

"Maybe not any that's good enough to get us on a plane, even if we could figure how to take Rowlf with us, but we do have some ID. The men from Jordan's outpost all carried theirs with them, and I picked up a couple of sets that'll fit us well enough to get by if nobody checks them out too closely."

"Smart move!" Charley grinned at him. "So, what are our new names?"

"I'm Jerry Ryan, and you're Charles Clark. Those should be close enough to our own names so we won't have too much trouble remembering them." He smiled down at Rowlf. "You won't have to wear that harness much longer, only for as long as it takes for the bus to get from here to Denver."

"I can do tha'," Rowlf agreed. "Wha' is this Denver place, and how far away is i'?"

"It's a middle-sized city," Phil answered. "There used to be about a half a million people living there, if I remember right. There are not as many any more, what with the heavy out-migration to other worlds the last few years, but there are a lot of people left there still. It's about a hundred miles from here, farther if you follow the main roads. We'll check the bus schedule, and see how long until the next one leaves. If we have enough time I want to check property records and see what I can find out about who owns the place where we came out."

The next bus to Denver wasn't scheduled to leave for another four hours, so Phil spent most of that time in the CountyCourthouse. The records weren't clear, but it looked to him like the property in question had been bought up by a large mining company some years ago. He noted the particulars, keeping them for when he might be able to make use of them.

Posing as Charley's nephew, Phil bought them both bus tickets. The clerk didn't say anything about Rowlf, accepting the Seeing Eye harnessed animal as perfectly normal.

"No, there's no problem," he told them. "We transport people with visual problems all the time. Have a nice day. You'll reach Denver in about three and a half hours."

Hidden behind dark glasses, Charley took the opportunity to doze as the bus wound its way through spectacular mountains, and Phil leafed through the files he'd brought with him while Row eagerly watched the passing scenery. By the time the bus had reached its goal in downtown Denver, he was more than ready for the next step of their journey.

"So, what do we do next?" Charley asked when they stood

outside the bus depot.

"Since we can't rent a car, and it's getting pretty

late in the day I'd say our best bet is to find a decent hotel where we can stay the night. By the time that's taken care of, I sure we'll all be ready for a good meal." Re flagged down a taxi, and the driver was more than willing to recommend a medium priced hotel close to the center of town.

Again, there was no trouble over Rowlf's presence. Once they were settled in their room, Phil ordered food and a local paper from room service rather than taking the chance of going to a restaurant.

"Whatcha checking in the paper?" Charley peered over at the newspaper Phil was hunting through as he ate.

"Used car ads. I'm looking for a private seller who

has something we can use, and afford," he added wryly. "Our cash won't last us forever. Ah, here's one that sounds good."