Mr. Watt gulped a mouthful of air but made no attempt to answer. He did not even open his eyes. He paid no attention to the other’s departure.
Young Dan found the hotel without difficulty and entered the office fully equipped.
“Will you kindly tell me the way to the nearest sheriff?” he asked of the man at the desk.
“The nearest sheriff?” repeated the hotel-keeper. “Do I get you, young feller? Ye’re askin’ the way to the nearest sheriff?”
There were four other men in that dreary little office of varnished brown woodwork, mangey mooseheads and crockery cuspidors. These all stared curiously at the young trapper and shifted their positions in their chairs. The hotel-keeper leaned far over his little counter.
“D’ye want to give yerself up?” he added, with a rude attempt at wit.
“I have asked you a simple and civil question,” said Young Dan in his quietest voice. “If you don’t understand simple questions here and don’t answer civil ones, then I’ll ask somewhere else. What about it?”
The hotel-keeper and his chaired patrons exchanged glances.
“Sure, sure,” said the former, hurriedly. “We ain’t got a sheriff in this town, but we got a fust-class depity-sheriff by the name of Archie Wallace. Maybe ye’ve heared of him; an’ maybe he kin do yer business for yer as well as the full-blowed high sheriff of the county. What was it you said you wanted to see him about?”
“I didn’t say,” replied Young Dan, with a disarming smile. “Thank you very much for the information; and now if you’ll tell me where I can find Mr. Wallace I’ll step along and stop troubling you.”
The hotel-keeper reached for his coat, which hung on a hook behind him.
“No trouble at all,” he said. “Glad to oblige. I’ll step along an’ show you his very door. I always aim to help strangers all I know how.”
“Ye hadn’t ought to leave yer seegar-stand in the rush hour, Dave,” said one of the patrons, getting quickly out of his chair. “I’ll take the young man to Archie Wallace. It’s fair on my way home.”
The hotel-keeper paid no attention to this offer but donned coat and cap and issued from behind the counter and dusty cigar-stand.
“Follow me, stranger,” he invited, leading the way out. “Me and the depity-sheriff are old friends. I’ll make you known to him.”