The Argo Goes West

48, Arrive in Denver

The telegraph network was usually run parallel to the railroad tracks. The Argo also had a telegraph crew on board, allowing telegraphs to be sent to Washington and New York from locations other than the station. But reporters didn't want to take advantage of it. They feared that Vice President Theodore Roosevelt would censor them. If Roosevelt were offended by the content of the article, the reporter who wrote it might have ordered a forced deboarding from the Argo. Many readers wanted to know what was happening on the West Coast and what the Argo was doing, so the reporters wanted to avoid that.

As soon as the Argo arrived in Denver, journalists rushed to the railroad telegraph station.　After waiting for their turn, they sent the candid articles they had written in the car to the head office. Meanwhile, a reception was being held at the station platform by the town's influential figures such as the mayor, judge, and marshal. However, only local reporters covered the story, and the article was never published in a national newspaper.

Nonetheless, since Scylla & Charybdis in Texas and Siren extermination in Melody Hills, there have been no such incidents, there was no great article. After sending the telegraph, the reporters went out into town, trying to get information that could be used as a story. Some interviewed station staff, and some interviewed government office staff.

Clifford Kent went straight to the Denver office of the Evening Post where he works. Kent asked the branch manager, who had a sparse mustache, if he had any new information about the West Coast.

"Nothing." The branch manager throws up his hands. "I know as far as Salt Lake City. But that's it. I don't know west of there. Some people say the Sierra Nevada is infested with monsters, but I don't know if that's true. Even without that, Sierra Nevada is a place where nature is harsh. I don't think it's easy to overcome the Argo."

"I see." Clifford Kent pondered the following newspaper headlines in his mind.

The monster-infested Sierra Nevada stands in front of the Argo

He wanted illustrations of monsters. However, he didn't know what the monster looked like, so he was going to ask illustrator to draw it in black silhouette.

Clifford Kent left the branch office and walked downtown, lined with tall buildings. Power lines were stretched overhead, and streetcar rails were laid out in an orderly grid on the ground. he went to the hotel. He hoped there would be either refugees from the west or traveling peddlers.

He noticed people in frontier clothes coming towards him. An elderly man leads, a female cowboy, a black boy, a gambler, a man with round glasses, and at the end a duo riding a vehicle that looks like a cart attached to the side of a motorbike. Clifford Kent recognized the front man's face. It was Pat Garrett. Kent was surprised, but no one else noticed. At that time, Pat Garrett's photos hadn't been circulated yet. If Pat's face had been known, there would have been a stir. Instead of praising Pat, people might have jeered him. Many people were fans of Billy the Kid who was killed by Pat.