"I don't know," drawled the sheriff. "It ain't quite usual——"
Clearly he did not wish to put Slim in a cell. Frank became impatient.
"Look here," he said. "You're sheriff here and your duty is to lock up lawbreakers. We'll give you all the evidence you need against this chap, but we want him kept where he can't do any harm. If you're afraid of Black Pepper——"
"I'm not afraid of nobody," said the sheriff hastily.
Just then the door opened and a bearded old prospector strode in. He went right up to the desk and shook his fist beneath the sheriff's nose.
"Lock him up," he roared. "We've stood for about enough from you, and I don't care whether you're sheriff or not. If you're goin' to encourage outlaws and thieves, me and the boys will mighty soon see that there's a new sheriff in this here man's town."
Frank and Joe then saw that other miners were standing in the doorway, crowding against one another, muttering truculently.
The sheriff blinked, wavered, and finally gave in.
"I just wanted to make sure it was all right," he muttered. "Don't want to lock anybody up that don't deserve it."
"You know mighty well that Slim Briggs deserves it, if any one in this camp ever did," retorted the old miner. "Lock him up."