iS6 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



fire until we gained the shelter of a long line of 

 trucks, and under their friendly cover crept up to 

 the hotel at the railway station, like a couple of 

 malefactors escaping from a hot pursuit. Male- 

 factors in fact we soon found ourselves to be, for 

 when we reached the hotel we discovered all our 

 baggage piled up in a heap in the centre of the 

 room, with the sheriff drunk, and in his shirt- 

 sleeves, seated on it, attended by a judge and the 

 sub-sheriff, both also the better — or worse — for 

 whisky. It was fortunate that we arrived when 

 we did. I'he sheriff or sub-sheriff, I forget which, 

 had assaulted my servant in the most cowardly, 

 brutal manner. The man had refused, and very 

 properly refused, to separate my property from 

 a lot of baggage belonging to other people, and 

 the drunken representative of the law drew two 

 pistols upon him, knocked him down, kicked him, 

 threatened to blow his bad-worded brains out, 

 and likely enough would have done so but for the 

 man's wonderful command of himself and quiet 

 courage. 



After some little difficulty we found out what 

 was the matter. It appeared that our government 

 scout, under the influence of bad whisky, had taken 

 it into his head to try the attachment dodge over 



