The Sheriff. Nan Ryan

      “That’s unfair.”

      “It’s the law,” said Doc Ledet.

      Kate sighed wearily. “It’s getting late, Doctor. I’d better go.”

      “Yes, you shouldn’t be out on the streets after dark,” he stated, rising from his chair. “The sheriff wouldn’t like it.”

      Kate frowned. “I don’t give a fig what the sheriff would like.”

      “Now, now, you don’t want to get crossways with Marshal McCloud.”

      Kate bit her tongue, but did not reply. She rose and moved toward the door, then stopped and turned back. “Dr. Ledet, have you ever heard the expression ‘seeing the elephant’?”

      He chuckled. “Where’d you hear it?”

      “Sheriff McCloud accused me of that.”

      “Child, it’s a well-known term that best characterizes the forty-niners and the gold rush.”

      “It makes no sense.”

      “Yes, it does. When gold was found in these mountains, people planning to come out West announced they were ‘going to see the elephant.’ Those who turned back claimed they had seen the ‘elephant’s tracks’ or the ‘elephant’s tail’ and swore they’d seen more than enough of the animal.” Eyes twinkling, he rubbed his chin, warming to the story, one he’d told many times before.