‘You don’t think a railroad’s substantial?’ Collis said.

‘Not the dream of a railroad. No, sir.’

‘So you wouldn’t invest in a railroad?’

‘Not unless I could see the surveys, and the projections of profit and loss.’

‘You think Queen Isabella saw surveys and projections of profit and loss when she financed Columbus?’

‘She had the latest information available. That’s all I’m asking for.’

‘Even though it’s self-evident that a transcontinental railroad must be the most historic and dramatic project this country has ever known?’

‘History and drama aren’t the same as profits and dividends, Mr Edmonds,’ Lloyd Wintle said softly. ‘Not by a long chalk. And what Mr Teach is saying is that, in the end, it all comes down to profits and dividends.’

‘Collis is just arrived, you know, Lloyd,’ Charles put in uneasily. ‘He hasn’t even had the opportunity to look around town, and size up the possibilities. This railroad talk, well, it’s only talk. Only a suggestion. For the first few months, Collis is going to come out to Sacramento and work for me.’

Teach raised a gingery eyebrow. ‘What does Collis have to say about that?’

Collis smiled. ‘What do you want me to say?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Teach. ‘You don’t look like the kind of fellow who’d knuckle down to hardware and dry goods and really enjoy it. Not when your mind is buzzing with railroads.’

Collis thoughtfully drew smoke from his cheroot. ‘I’m looking forward to working for Charles for a while, as a matter of fact. There are one or two important gaps in my education, particularly when it comes to business. I can play a tolerable game of faro, and ride a horse for sport. But if I’m ever going to lay a railroad line across those mountains, I’m going to require other abilities, too. Like working out the cost of timber, for railroad ties; and buying up spikes and rails. Like buying the right make of locomotive for the right reasons, and knowing how to work it. Like dealing with labourers and surveyors, and understanding how to lead them, and how to give them the same sense of purpose that I’m going to need.’

‘You don’t know any of that already?’ asked Arthur Teach, gently gibing him. ‘You make yourself sound uniquely unqualified, if you don’t mind my saying so.’

‘You can’t be too hard there, Arthur,’ Charles said. ‘Nobody’s ever done this before, right? It’s not like asking a man if he’s qualified to fix a barn.’