Pop. 1280

'I throw a big barbecue every night the last month before election. Come one, come all. I got to buy presents when folks has a new baby, and I got to-'

'Nick! Nick, listen to me!' Robert Lee held up his hand. 'You don't have to do all those things. People have no right to expect them of you.'

'Maybe they don't have a right,' I said. 'I'll go along with that. But what they got a right to expect, and what they do expect ain't exactly the same thing.'

'Just do your job, Nick. Do it well. Show people that you're honest and courageous and hard- working, and you won't have to do anything else.'

I shook my head, and said I couldn't. 'I just plain can't, Robert Lee, and that's a fact.'

'No?' He leaned back in his chair. 'And just why can't you, pray tell?'

'For a couple of reasons,' I said. 'For one thing, I ain't real brave and hard-workin' and honest. For another, the voters don't want me to be.'

'And just how do you figure that?'

'They elected me, didn't they? They keep electing me.'

'That's pretty specious thinking,' Robert Lee said. 'Perhaps they trusted and liked you. They've been giving you every chance to make good. And you'd better do it very quickly, Nick.' He leaned forward and tapped me on the knee. 'I'm telling you that as a friend. If you don't straighten up and do your job, you'll be out of it come fall.'

'You really think Sam Gaddis is that strong, Robert Lee?'

'He's that strong, Nick. Every bit that strong. Sam is just about everything you're not, if you'll excuse my saying so, and the voters like him. You'd better get busy or he'll beat the pants off of you.'

'Uh-hah! ' I said. 'Umm- humm! Would you mind if I used your phone, Robert Lee?'

He said go ahead and I called Myra. I told her I was going out to Rose Hauck's place to help her do her chores, so that Tom wouldn't beat her up when he got home. Myra said that was just fine, her and Rose being such good friends-or so she thought-and she told me to stay as long as I liked.

I hung up the phone. Robert Lee Jefferson was staring at me like I was plumb out of my mind. 'Nick,' he said, waving his hands, 'haven't you heard a word I said? Is that your idea of doing your job-to go out and chore around the Hauck farm?'

'But Rose needs help,' I said. 'You surely ain't sayin' it's wrong to help her.'

'Of course, I'm not! It's nice of you to want to help her; that's one of your good qualities, the way you're always willing to help people. But-but-' He sighed and shook his head wearily. 'Aaah, Nick, don't you understand? It isn't your job doing things like that. It isn't what you're paid for. And you've got to start doing what you're paid for, or Sam Gaddis will beat you!'

'Beat me?' I said. 'Oh, you mean the election?'

'Of course I mean the election! What the hell else have we been talking about?'

'Well, I've been thinking about that,' I said. 'I've been doing a lot of thinking about it, Robert Lee, and! think I've thought of an angle that will beat ol' Sam.'

'An angle? You mean some kind of trick?'

'Well, you might call it that,' I said.

'B-But-but-' He looked like he was about to explode again. 'But why, Nick? Why not simply do your job?'

'Well, I thought a lot about that, too,' I said. 'Yes, sir, I really did a lot of thinking. Almost had myself convinced for a while that I actually should get out and start arrestin' people, and start actin' like a sheriff in general. But then I did some more thinkin', and I knew I hadn't ought to do nothing of the kind.'

'But, Nick-'

'Because people don't want me to do that,' I said. 'Maybe they think they do, but they don't. All they want is for me to give 'em some excuse to vote for me again.'

'You're wrong, Nick.' Robert Lee wagged his head. 'You're dead wrong. You've got away with tricks in the past, but they won't work this time. Not against a truly fine man like Sam Gaddis.'

I said, well, we'd just have to wait and see, and he gave me a sharp look.

'Have you got some idea that Sam Gaddis isn't a good man? Is that it, Nick?! can tell you right now that if you have some idea of digging up some dirt on him-'

'I got no such idea,' I said. 'I couldn't dig up no dirt on Sam if! wanted to, because there just ain't none to dig.'

'Good. I'm glad you realize that.'

'No, sir,' I said. 'I know Sam's as good a man as they come. That's why I can't understand how all these stories about him got started.'

'Well, that's fine. I-what? ' He stared at me startled. 'What stories?'

'You mean you ain't heard?' I said.

'Of course, I haven't! Now just what are these stories?'

I made as if I was about to tell him, and then I stopped and shook my head. 'I ain't gonna repeat 'em,' I said. 'If you ain't heard 'em, you sure ain't gonna hear 'em from me. No, siree!'

He took a quick look around and leaned forward, voice lowered. 'Tell me, Nick. I swear I won't repeat a word you say.'

'I can't. I just can't. Robert Lee. It wouldn't be fair, and there's just no reason to. What difference does it make if people are going around spreading a lot of dirty stories about Sam, as long as we know they're not true?'

'Now, Nick-'

'I tell you what I am gonna do,' I said. 'When Sam gets up to make his first campaign speech, come Sunday-week, I'm gonna be right up on the platform with him. He gets my moral support a thousand per cent, and I'm gonna say so. Because I know there ain't a word of truth in all them dirty, filthy stories that are going around about him!'

Robert Lee Jefferson followed me to the front door, trying to get me to say what the stories were. I kept refusing, naturally, the main reason being that I'd never heard no one say a bad word about Sam Gaddis in my life.

'No, sir,'! said, as I went out the door. 'I just ain't gonna repeat 'em. You want to hear any dirt about Sam you'll have to get it from someone else.'

'Who?' he said eagerly. 'Who should I ask, Nick?'

'Anyone. Just about anyone,' I said. 'There's always folks that are willin' to dirty a good man, even when they ain't got a thing to go on!'

10

I got my horse and buggy out of the livery stable, and drove out of town. But I was quite a little while in getting out to see Rose Hauck. I had a little business with Tom to take care of first, business that was kind of a pleasure, if you know what I mean, and it was about an hour's drive to his favourite hunting place.

He was there, maybe a hundred feet back from the road, and he was doing his usual kind of hunting. Sitting with his back against one tree and his gun against another, and slugging down whiskey from a jug as fast as he could swallow.

He looked around as I came up on him, and asked me what the hell I was doing there. Then, his eyes widened and he tried to get to his feet, and he asked me what the hell I thought I was doing with his gun.

'First things first,' I said. 'One thing I'm doin' out this way is to pay a visit to your wife. I'm gonna