The Dodge House stood out from the buildings around it. It was of better construction, and though it looked old, there were signs of work on the building's exterior that showed that it was a well maintained edifice. It was three stories tall, and had an exterior that was mostly brick, with a dark wood that complemented it nicely. The front of the building faced Front Street and the railroad tracks and had a wooden deck on the outside with a roof over it. Two lanterns hung overhead, lighting the stairs that lead up to the building and making the door clearly visible. There was a sign indicating a stable around back, and a hitching post in the front.

Daniel nodded at Cora's request to let her know of any card games, "O'course I will, ma'am. Mebbe I'll even put a wager on yer skills if anybody's amenable."

He listened to her response about her history and nodded at all the right places, while frowning when she mentioned her father had passed. "Sorry ta hear yer paw ain't aroun' no more. I feel lucky I still got muh parents an' muh siblins. We travelled around a bit, yeah. Uncle Gabby made some lucertive discoveries down Texas way. Lucertive enough that his sister brought 'er family there. That'd be muh maw. Sadly things went sour down there an' we ended up in Topeka. It's a fine enough place, an' paw's barber shop does purty well. But I been there too long, ya know? Time ta move on, get a shop of my own, start a family, and so on."

He shrugged slightly, "So we traveled a bit, yeah. Uncle Gabby's been to Californy 'fore, so he's more traveled'n me. None o' what I seen is anythin' like New York City, though. What's it like there? An' Europe, that's a long trip. Where ya go over there?"
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 00:55, Fri 14 Dec 2012.

"New York is quite possibly the most interesting place on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.  The streets there are always busy with life and activity, no matter what time of day or night.  If you have ever been to a big city, imagine a much larger one, full of towering buildings and row upon row of lamps along every avenue.  It is a wondrous place."  She sighed, thinking of home and her mother there alone.

"We took a ship from New York to England and it took several weeks to cross, though the journey was fairly calming and uneventful.  I couldn't begin to describe London and do it justice.  It is even bigger than New York, far more crowded, and even more interesting.  Also exceedingly dirty."  She glanced to the hotel as they neared and gestured to the back with one hand.  "Were you going to stable your mount or hitch him?"

Randolph tips his hat to the Deputy, picks up his Gladstone bag and goes into the hotel to find a porter for his and Coraline's trunks.

Gabby's grin grows a lot wider as he shakes the deputy's hand. "Wyatt Earp? Well I'll be dipped in shit and rolled in breadcrumbs!"

"Well, I never heard that one before. I suppose you might know me from Wichita if you've been there - I used to do some lawin' back there, before I came here. My apologies - I'm not very good with names and faces, except criminals, and you ain't one as far as I know," he said, the last part clearly intended as a joke as it came with a dry grin.

"Naw, we ain't met." Gabby says. "But the Epitaph mentions your name an awful lot, usually in fairly glowin' terms. The folks in Tombstone tend to make you out to be a regular hero, they do."

He knuckled one of his mustaches. "Well, I guess I do occasionally get involved in the kinda thing that the Epitaph might write about. Not much of a newspaper man, myself though. I suppose I've heard about that before, but I tend to forget about it. You said you were goin' to California earlier - got any idea whereabouts? I used to drive a stage back there in the Imperial Valley, though I guess some o' that ain't there no more. I was a teamster too - ran goods from Wilmington to Salt Lake City. Now that I think about it, I guess maybe that ain't there either. Damn earthquake."
This message was last updated by the player at 22:44, Tue 18 Dec 2012.

Daniel listened intently as Cora described some of the bigger cities out east, his face exhibiting some degree of wonderment at what they must be like. "Ma'am, the biggest town I ever seen ain't nuthin like a city. So's hard fer me ta 'magine, but it sounds interestin'. Mebbe I'll git ta one someday."

He regarded Jacques at her question, "Ima gonna hitch Jock for th' time bein', but I'll stable 'im fer th' night. Er what's left of it. If anyone's even 'round at this hour."

He took care of the hitching and then moved ahead of Cora to open the door for her and gesture for her to enter ahead of him. Once they entered, he looked around for Mrs. Linkous and for someone to help them with their accommodations.

In reply to Wyatt Earp (msg # 8):

"Well, you might start readin' that one. I reckon Marshal Morgan told you 'bout how we came to capture this fella here? Well, them deadders he was usin', they took grievous bodily harm without so much as a flinch. Shootin' 'em in the head was the only thing that worked, and I only figgered that trick out 'cause o' somethin' I'd read in the Epitaph. To be honest, I never really did believe half o' what they spouted afore it was starin' me in the face." he pets Clementine. "Well, I was mostly in the Sierra Nevadas, near Coloma. You know, real '49er stock here. Things got bad after the quake, sure enough...even up in the mountains things got hard. I tell you, the week o' the quake I didn't get a lick o' sleep. Had no idea what was goin' on fer a while after, until the survivors started driftin' through. Now, I'm headed to the coast. There's a place called Gomorra near Shan Fan there that's supposed to be sittin' on a good amount o' Ghost Rock. Never did much rock minin' before, but I'd like to feather my nest a bit."

Morgan smiled and shook his head slowly as he listened to Earp and Gabby talk about their travels. "You gents have seen a lot more of this country than I have. I'm afraid Kansas and a bit of Missouri makes up most of the territory I've seen." He glanced at Earp. "I've heard about some of what you did in Wichita, Deputy Marshal. You're a fine lawman by all accounts."

Stepping toward the Dodge House he added, "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to try and get some rest. Morning will be here before we know it."

Taking his leave, Morgan entered the hotel.

"Well, we'll see if that reputation holds up over the next few days. I think you're onto something though. Gentlemen, pardon my bein' abrupt but I'm gonna have to get this sonuvabitch in a cell and get me to bed before I sit here jawin' all night. Too much work to do," he said. With a wave, and without any more ado, he began to guide Radcliffe's horse and buckboard away from the hotel and towards the jail.

Gabby tips his hat to the lawman, takes his luggage, and moseys on into the boarding house.

The Dodge House was bustling in the morning, a moderate number of guests sitting in the hotel's dining room and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. A pleasantly light lull of conversation filled the air, and occasionally a serving girl would pop out of the kitchen with a plate or two for a guest. Included in the price of the nightly stay, plates of eggs, bacon and a dish of fried potatoes and onions were set down n front of anybody who wanted any and one mug of coffee as well. Some people, though not many, ordered extra items to have on their plates but the price here was steep enough without adding too much to the bill.