The Sheriff. Nan Ryan

beaten a poor, helpless man within an inch of his life while you were sitting here sound asleep!”

      Travis said nothing. Looking directly into his dark eyes, she continued, “They attempted to cut off his queue, but I got there in time! Swear to me you’ll make them pay.”

      “I swear,” Travis said. He yawned, pushed her to her feet and rose to his own. “Anything else I can do for you?”

      Kate took a step back. “What are you going to do to them?”

      “Find ’em first,” he said with slow smile that made her want to smack his smug face.

      “And then?”

      Travis shrugged broad shoulders, “Perhaps a dose of their own medicine.”

      Kate was appalled. “For heaven’s sake, are you saying that you intend to beat them?”

      “What would you suggest I do with them?” he asked, running a hand through his thick raven hair. He reached for his hat.

      “Why, that’s barbaric! You simply cannot behave like an animal, Sheriff. You’re supposed to be an officer of the law and—”

      “I am the law, Miss VanNam. And you have just reported a criminal act, one that calls for harsh punishment. This is not Boston. It’s Fortune, California. If you don’t like the way things are done here, may I suggest you return to the civilized East.” He picked up his gun belt, slung it around his hips and buckled it. “You come in here and tell me that Kelton and Spears beat up a defenseless man. Fine, I believe you. Now believe me when I tell you that they will pay.”

      Travis stepped around her, headed for the door.

      “Marshal McCloud.”

      He turned back to look at her. “Yes, Miss VanNam?”

      “Don’t ever do that again.”

      “What’s that, Miss VanNam?”

      “Sit me on your knee.” Her face flushed as she said the words.

      Travis put his hat on his head and adjusted the brim. “Wake me like that again and you’ll be lucky if I don’t turn you over my knee.”

      He tipped his hat and left Kate glaring after him. She watched him unhurriedly cross the street, and felt again the heat of his arm around her waist when he’d sat her on his knee. She shivered inwardly. There was an air of mystery and power about the town sheriff that both repelled and excited her. He was handsome in a ruthless way and she had no doubt there were women who looked upon him with favor.

      Kate shook herself out of her foolish reveries and hurried back to Dr. Ledet’s office to check on the patient.

      For the next hour she stayed at the physician’s elbow, assisting in any way she could while he worked on Chang Li. Dr. Ledet had given the suffering man a liberal dose of laudanum, and Chang Li was now sleeping soundly.

      When finally the doctor was finished with the task, and both he and Kate had washed their hands, he quietly motioned her to precede him out of the room.

      Once they were in the front office, Kate reached for her reticule. “How much does he owe you, Doctor? I want to pay.”

      “Not a thing, Kate.” He smiled as he rolled his sleeves down. She tried again, but he refused to take any money. He said, “Chang Li is resting well, so we’ll leave him here in my office for a couple of days. He’s going to be fine. Sore for a while, but no permanent damage was done.”

      Kate nodded. “Thanks to you.”

      “No, I’d say it’s thanks to you, child.” He chuckled and said, “You faced down the town bullies. I don’t know of many men, much less a woman, who would….”

      A disturbance outside caused the doctor to stop speaking. He and Kate exchanged glances, then quickly turned to look out the window.

      Marshal Travis McCloud, mounted atop a snorting Appaloosa stallion, came riding down the center of the Main Street with two big, dirty prisoners—one with a black eye patch, the other with a full red beard—stumbling behind him. A long length of rope was wrapped around their bound hands and tied to the sheriff’s gun belt.

      Bordello girls, bartenders, hotel clerks, store proprietors and anybody else who happened to be in town spilled out into the street. The spectators pointed at the humiliated pair and laughed merrily. They shouted and whistled and applauded.

      “Dr. Ledet,” Kate said, aghast at the sight of the men’s bloody noses and blackened eyes. “Those prisoners have been beaten. Did the marshal…?”

      “Indeed he did. Found them and fought them both and brought them in to jail. And look at Travis—not a scratch on him,” the doctor said admiringly.

      Kate’s jaw dropped. “You approve?”

      “Absolutely,” he declared with a smile. “Street fighting, stabbing, shooting and claim jumping. You name it, Travis handles it with ease. He’s the bravest, finest sheriff in all California.”

      Ten

      “Don’t shoot!” shouted a strapping, ruddy-faced man in dirty overalls, raising his big hands in the air.

      “I surrender!” called another, pretending to be frightened.

      “Take me prisoner, please!” pleaded a grinning young boy as he fell to his knees on the sidewalk and offered up his wrists.

      Everyone guffawed and whistled.

      The teasing was directed at Kate.

      And she could thank Doc Ledet.

      The miners had learned from the physician that the pretty newcomer had boldly stepped into an alley, fired her big Colt in the air and threatened Kelton and Spears.

      Now when Kate went to check on Chang Li, the miners clowned with her as she walked down the street. Unconcerned with their childish ribbing, she headed directly to Dr. Ledet’s office two doors past the Eldorado Hotel.

      “Dr. Ledet?” Kate called softly as she stepped into the front office. “Are you here, Doctor?”

      The physician came through the back room’s curtained door and placed a finger to his lips. Kate nodded in understanding.

      In low tones, the doctor said, “Chang Li is resting. He awakened earlier this afternoon and ate a little broth. He told me the whole story of how you saved his life.”

      Kate narrowed her eyes. “And you promptly informed the rest of Fortune.”

      Looking sheepish, Doc Ledet said, “I might have mentioned it to a couple of people.” When she didn’t scold him, he smiled, offered her a chair and said, “Some of the miners are saying maybe Marshal Mc-Cloud should deputize you.”

      At the mention of the marshal, Kate frowned, but made no comment. She sat down and carefully spread her billowing skirts around her feet. “Doctor, why were those men beating Chang Li? What had he done to deserve such brutality?”

      “He did nothing to provoke them,” the doctor said, stepping behind the desk and dropping wearily into his high-backed chair. “Coolies are hated and reviled because they will work harder and longer for less, and that brings wages down.”

      The doctor knew a great deal about Chang Li, as he did about everyone in Fortune. And he was more than happy to share the information. Kate listened attentively.

      “Chang Li has been in Fortune for three years while his family is back in China. He’s longing for a better life, hoping to make enough money in California to bring his wife and children here one day.

      “He lives alone in the tent city at the southern edge of town.”

      “Those two bullies must be properly punished,” Kate replied. “They should stand trial. Chang Li must testify against them and—”