Morrison will rent out the storefront across the street from his store. You could put your shingle out and maybe earn a couple of dollars every month."
Harrison shrugged. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I might settle down here, and then again, I might not. It's too soon to tell."
"You got enough money to hold you over until you decide?" Henry asked. Harrison knew better than to admit he was carrying money.
"No," he answered. "I don't suppose I have enough to last more than a couple of days."
"You'll get along," Dooley advised. "You're big and you got muscle. You can always hire out and work to keep food on your table."
"That's what I figured," Harrison lied.
"What exactly are you doing in Blue Belle?" Billie asked. "I know it isn't any of my business, but I'm curious to know. You mind telling us, mister?"
"Call me Harrison," he said again. "I don't mind telling why I'm here. I'm on what I'm pretty certain is a wild-goose chase. At least the man I work for believes my trip will end up running after a dream."
"You already got yourself a job?" Dooley asked.
"I've taken a temporary leave."
"So you could end up staying here. Is that the way of it?" Henry asked.
"I suppose I could."
"I say you should stay," Billie announced. "Don't work for anyone but yourself. That's our way. You don't have to answer to anyone."
"You mind answering a question about the law?" Ghost asked.
"What is it you want to know?"
"I'm thinking hard about stealing a horse," Ghost announced. He stood up and walked over to the table.
"The fella I'm thinking about robbing stole my woman years back, so, the way I see it, I ain't really doing nothing wrong. The law's on my side, right?"
Harrison leaned back in his chair. He stopped himself before he smiled. The question was amusing, but he didn't want Ghost to think he was laughing at him.
"Sorry to disappoint you," he said. "Pride might be on your side, but the law isn't." Dooley slapped his hand down on the tabletop and let out another hoot of laughter. "That's what I told him," he announced in a near shout. "Pride will get him hung by the vigilantes if he steals Lloyd's horse." Ghost didn't like Harrison's answer. He walked away from the table muttering to himself. His question opened the door for others, however, and for the next hour, Harrison dispensed free legal advice. Although he'd been educated at Oxford and had done his apprenticeship in England, he also worked for a man who owned two manufacturing plants. Because the company regularly shipped to the American
east coast, Harrison had had to familiarize himself with the laws regulating export and import. The difference between the way the law was interpreted by the courts in England and in America fascinated him. He tirelessly pored over any material about unusual decisions and cases that he could get his hands on.
His associates thought it was dry reading indeed, especially the older cases he'd wanted to discuss with them. He was told it was boring material at best, and it reminded them of all the mandatory reading they'd had to suffer through while at university. Harrison didn't agree. He loved reading the philosophers, especially Plato, and he enjoyed reading the opinions of the scholars who founded his country's government as well. But most of all, he loved the law. The discipline of the court system appealed to him. He thought it was imperative to keep up with all the latest decisions so that he could eventually become one of the best in his field. Good wasn't enough for him. Harrison strove for excellence in everything he undertook. Unfinished puzzles drove him crazy. Whatever he started, he finished. His passion for the law and his compassion for his fellow man had made him unpopular in many circles. Because he worked for the powerful Lord Elliott, he had never actually been blackballed, although he'd certainly come close on several occasions, and all because he took on unpopular cases. He was rapidly getting a