Welcome To Wyoming. Kate Bridges

her. There were so many different types of people here. Most were men, but occasional women passed by, too, dressed in various tastes ranging from simple country fashions to elegant coiffures and wealthy dresses.

      Soldiers from nearby Fort Russell strode by, dressed in uniform and headed toward the livery stable across the street. A church sat nestled next to it, and a gambling hall next to that. What a mix of affluence and attitude.

      Two men in shiny jackets and cravats mused at a jewelry-store window. She glanced at the gold chains that draped across their ruffled shirts, the diamond lapel pins, the silver-tipped watch fobs, the ruby cuff links and golden rings. She’d never seen any men wear so much jewelry.

      “Heavens,” she whispered in surprise, trying to fathom who these flashy men were.

      “Gamblers,” Jarrod whispered back.

      “Ah.” She glanced at the jewelry-store window as they passed. George’s Fine Gold, the swinging sign above them read. When she turned the corner, she realized there was an entire row of jewelry shops on this street.

      “Oh, my.” Such wealth.

      Close by, near the Union Pacific Railroad Depot, where she’d arrived yesterday, tents were slapped up with makeshift bakeries, coffeehouses and cafés. There were market stalls of all sorts of merchandise being sold from coffeepots to snowshoes to hammers and mining equipment. One man specialized in ropes, and all sorts of these fibers, in various thicknesses and colors, dangled from the top of his awnings.

      What interested her most were the jewelry stores ahead of her.

      “How on earth do you compete, Jarrod, with all these shops?”

      He had a ready answer. “My stores have been around longer than most and I’ve got established customers. I give them expertise in the field. Honesty and value in transactions. Half of these shops are nothing but fronts for dishonest thieves.”

      She frowned in surprise and scrutinized the customers going in and out. Many were what seemed like hardworking folks dressed in everyday work clothes, some were travelers with luggage, others were more wealthy folks dressed in finer clothes. It was disappointing to know that some of them were being hustled and cheated.

      “There’s a nice café around the corner, but if you’re appetite’s not burning yet, I thought we could investigate one of the larger shops.”

      “I’d like that.” She was curious to see how the shops and the jewelry compared with Chicago’s.

      “After you,” he said, flagging her into the wide storefront ahead. The sign read Wyoming Jewelry Exchange. “It’s the busiest exchange in the territory.”