Bart Maverick had ridden into town to spend some time going over the books at Maude's, the saloon owned primarily by his mother-in-law Maude Donovan. Bart was part owner and General Manager. He usually dropped in about once a week to make sure that the checks were signed and everything else was in order. He'd been doing this for quite a while now, ever since the ranch that he and his brother had built was completed and his family had moved out of the house that was right up the street. Usually he rode in sometime during the morning, ate lunch at Sawyer's, finished his work during the late afternoon, and was home in time for supper.
Today was different, though, because there was a town council meeting at six p.m., and he was joining Bret for supper at Mamacita's before that. Bart had no idea whether Bret was running for a council position or not, but he hoped his brother would decide once and for all tonight. He didn't know who had entered Bret's name as a potential candidate but he strongly suspected Ginny Malone had gotten someone in town to submit her husband's name, and the possibility of both brothers as council members was growing with each passing day. At least if you listened to gossip on the streets it was growing.
Billy Sunday was still Bart's Daytime Manager, but Maude's had gotten so much bigger and busier that Willie Beacham, ex-bartender, was now the Bar Manager. Willie was in charge of inventory and all the bartenders, and it was Willie who kept herd on all the gossip. He and Bart were sitting at a table in the rear of the saloon, drinking coffee and catching up on all the latest, when they finally got around to discussing the town council.
"I heard it was Benny White that submitted your brother's name. He said the two of you always worked better together than separate, and the town would be real lucky to get both of you."
Bart gave that some thought before he said anything. While Benny had a point, Bart wasn't sure if Bret wanted anything to do with politics or local government. And Bret still hadn't decided whether he'd support the railroad building a station in Little Bend or not. "That's probably true if Bret's really interested in something. But he hasn't given me any indication that he wants to be involved with either the council or the railroad. And if he's not enthusiastic about either of those . . ."
"Ain't he gonna meet you for supper tonight?"
Bart pulled out his watch and looked at the time. It was almost four o'clock. "Yeah, in about thirty minutes. Maybe he'll know what he wants to do by then."
Willie shook his head and set his coffee cup back down. "I can't imagine Bret Maverick bein' at all interested in local politics, unless there's money involved in it."
That elicited a laugh from his brother. "I have to agree with you. He's just not attracted to anything that he can't see the benefit in, and some of those men on the council will drive him crazy. But it could be real helpful for him to be part of it. There's gonna be times I need an ally, and who better than my brother?"
"You think the rumors are true this time? About the railroad station, I mean."
"I was talkin' to Parker the other day, and he seems to think they are. A railroad stop in Little Bend could bring us a lot of business. Here at the saloon, I mean."
"You really think so, boss?"
Bart nodded. "I do, Willie. And I'm pretty sure Bret would be in favor of a train station, too. It'd sure make it easier to get our cross-breeds sold." Bart looked up just in time to see his brother come in through the front doors. "Here he is now. Cross your fingers, that I can get some answers."
Bret came straight back to the last table and sat down. "Willie, how's life been treatin' you?"
"Pretty good, Mister Bret, pretty good. What about yourself?"
"Not bad, for an old, semi-retired cardsharp. Brother Bart, you about ready to go eat?"
"I am, Bret. Mamacita's still alright with you?"
He nodded vigorously. "Then we can talk about this town council nonsense."
Bart exchanged an 'I told you so' look with Willie. Both men attempted to keep from laughing at Bret's predictability.
By the time the brothers got finished with supper, neither was laughing. For one of the few times in their lives, they totally disagreed on something both of them deemed important. Bart could see that there might be some unpleasant consequences to making Little Bend into a regular train stopover, but the potential for good far outweighed the bad. Bret, on the other hand, envisioned nothing but problems with the addition of the railway station. He couldn't see anything productive coming from a 'train stop.'
"How can you say that?" Bart was adamant that the additional traffic in the valley could and would be beneficial. "There'll be more people here . . . people with time to kill while they wait to make a stagecoach connection, folks with money in their pockets to spend. To say nothing of the additional funds available to be used for the purchase of the finest cross-bred Arabian horses in the west. And we won't have to make ourselves crazy figurin' out how to transport 'em."
"I don't see it, Bart. Just a lot of transients cloggin' up the streets and shootin' up the night. Bet you a dollar our horse sales don't go up one bit. And Dave'll have to hire at least two more deputies. Not countin' the bar brawls somebody's gonna have to referee. It just ain't worth the aggravation." Bret had made up his mind exactly the opposite of his brother, something as rare as a spring breeze.
"I can't support this, Bart. It ain't gonna cause nothin' but pain. We don't need a train station here, it's just gonna attract the wrong kind of people. "
"I can't see that you're gonna have a lotta choice in the matter, Bret. If the railroad approves the station, it's gonna get built."
"And you think the town council is gonna go along with what the railroad wants?"
Bart nodded. "I do. They've been tryin' for years to get a spur line in here. This is their big chance to do just that."
The older brother sighed. "Then I guess I'm gonna have to be part of the whole damn thing."
"Of the railroad, Brother Bret?"
"Of the town council, Brother Bart."