Lennie slobbered out a laugh, pointing a finger at me. “Cowardly calf, cowardly calf! Sheriff Nick’s a cowardly calf!”

I looked at him, and he stopped laughing and pointing. He turned real quiet, and kind of pale.

I looked at Myra, and her smile stiffened and faded. And she was almost as pale and silent as Lennie.

“N-Nick—” She broke the long silence with a trembly laugh. “W-What’s the matter?”

“Matter?” I said.

“The way you’re looking. Like you were about to kill Lennie and me both. I—I never saw you look that way before.”

I forced a laugh, making it sound easy and stupid. “Me? Me kill someone? Aw, now!”

“But—but you—”

“I guess maybe I was thinking about the election. Thinking maybe it wasn’t a very good idea to be pokin’ fun at me with the election comin’ up.”

She nodded her head quickly, and frowned at Lennie. “Of course, we’d never carry on like that in public. But—but probably it isn’t a good idea. Even if we were just joking.”

I thanked her for her understandin’, and started for the door.

She followed me for a step, still kind of anxious; shook up from the scare I’d accidently given her.

“I don’t think you have to worry about getting elected, dear. Not with all the talk that’s going on about Sam Gaddis.”

“Well, I never believe in takin’ chances,” I said. “I always figure a fella ought to lean over backwards and put his shoulder to the wheel, and not count his chickens until they’re hatched.”

“Mrs. Robert Lee Jefferson said her husband said that you said you didn’t believe the stories about Sam Gaddis.”

“I don’t. I don’t believe a god-danged word of ‘em,” I said.

“But—she also said that he said that you said you were going to speak up for Mr. Gaddis. She said that he said that you said you were going to be on the speakers’ platform with him come Sunday-week.”

I told her she’d spoken the truth, and that was a fact. “You talk to her again, you tell her that when she said that Robert Lee said that I said I was going to speak up for Sam Gaddis, she was a thousand per cent right.”

“You fool!—” She caught herself. “But Gaddis is running against you, dear. Why should you do anything for him?”

“Now, that’s quite a question, ain’t it?” I said. “Yes, sir, that is ‘quite’ a question. Reckon I’d tell you the answer if I didn’t figure you’d have so much fun cypherin’ it out.”

“But—”

“Reckon I’d better be rushing back to my office,” I said. “No tellin’ what’s been happening while I was away.”

I went on down the stairs, pretending like I didn’t hear her when she called to me. I went in my office and sat down with my boots upon the desk. And I slanted my hat over my eyes, and kind of dozed for a little while.

It was awfully peaceful. The mud was keeping most folks indoors, and the painters were taking the day off because of the wet, so there wasn’t a lot of slamming and banging and calling back and forth from them. A fella could really rest for a change, and catch up the sleep that he didn’t get at night.