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Steele made yet another start. "Well, then... there's nothing stopping you, is there? I'll be paying you more than you would make hunting buffalo, because hunting buffalo would make you nothing!"
A wayward breeze flew into the alleyway, brushing past the pair of men now staring at each other, punctuating their showdown until one admitted defeat.
"...you better be made of money, old man. Buffalo hide isn't cheap." Steele smiled from ear to ear, only to be cut off once more-- "...but, 's long 's ah can eat'n sleep on what you pay me, I might be willin' to negotiate on the pricing."
The two conversation descended into one-sided chattering from thereon out as Steele tried desperately to find a price that Andrew would accept... all the while, Andrew hoisted both you and Steele back onto Buckwheat before getting onto Dora and turning around to lead the way onto Sacramento's many streets.
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There was far too much to do here. At every single corner there was something new. A library! A tailor's! Barbers and grocers and post offices and penitentiaries and lodging houses and... you were losing track of the city's offerings very quickly. The dizzying task wasn't one you wanted to continue.
Andrew and Steele had left you for the time being, with the latter insisting that Steele ferry him to his specific investment firm in another part of town before all else, so you had who knew how many hours to wander the streets of Sacramento in search of a telegram office. You knew there had to be at least one private one here, surely, and if all else... maybe you could pester the state government? Surely your family being trapped in New York City could qualify as enough of an emergency for them to cooperate...
You perished the thought. You'd find a private service, for sure, on your own. Even if this city was starting to feel outright labyrinthian, you knew you could do something as simple as find a building within it. If you got desperate enough, you could even try to ask a local for directions. Or maybe the papers would have some kind of map built in? Surely that would be necessary someplace as big as this.
Regardless, simply thinking about finding it would get you nowhere. You had to take action and move your feet...
>Take the bridge across the Sacramento and see if there's a service someplace on the wharf.
>Start towards the Capitol building instead, hedging your bets on one or two offices being around there. You can see the building from here, so it shouldn't be too hard...
>Ignore the telegram offices entirely, for now, and focus on some kind of post office instead. How were you going to send a telegram without knowing whether your family had even seen your first letter?
>Do something else! [Write-in.]
