This was not the first time Gil Ross had been to Virginia City in Nevada Territory. In the spring of 1860 he had gone there as a reporter to write about the new silver strikes. Four years later, he's there as mining engineer to prepare an official report on the potential wealth of the region for the Lincoln Administration. Much had improved, but there were new problems. Stagecoaches were subject to frequent hold-ups by gangs - including the one in which Ross is a passenger.

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