Second Harvest

After sitting at the dining table, the men looked around the sparse home. Sara poured several glasses of spring water for everyone sitting.

"Sure is tasty. Thank you, ma'am. You have a lovely home, Mr. and Mrs. Folsom and your hospitality is greatly appreciated."

"Mr. Brown, we'd prefer if you addressed us a Roy and Sara."

"Excellent. Roy. Sara." The marshal dipped his chin with each name. "You may call me Bill."

"Well Bill, what brings you out to our small farm today?"

"Roy, I'll get right to the point and not waste a bunch of your time. We at the United States Marshals office are always looking to expand, especially in territories like Arizona. With more people settling out west, we need men to maintain the law. We're thinking about opening an office here in your town."

"Why here and not closer to Phoenix."

"Well, to tell you the truth, Roy, we'd like to hire you."

"Me?"

"Yes, sir. I must admit you had an impressive military record and was decorated twice for heroism. Not many men have accomplished that distinction and lived to tell about it. Plus, you handled yourself quite well in that nasty mess with the Dixon gang."

"I don't know Bill. I just reacted to the situation by taking care of my family."

"All the same Roy, I would rather have a man like you on my side 'reacting.' You did a darn fine job-better than men I've had working for me for years."

"I've got to be honest Bill, I'm forty-seven now and I'm not sure I want to be doing that kind of work anymore, much less be in the business of killing men."

"You look darn good for someone forty-seven Roy. But I understand your feelings and we thought you might feel this way about our discussion, which is why I'm not offering you that kind of job."

Sara and Roy exchanged puzzled looks and Sara said, "We don't understand Bill. What are you asking my husband to do?"

"Ma'am, your husband has a lot of experience and knowledge that we would like to have. We thought he could train younger men."

"Me a teacher?"

"Well now, sort of. If we open an office here in Arizona, we're going to need someone to manage, supervise, teach, and write reports. I assume you're literate and can read and write?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Well great. If you'd be interested in this job, we would assign several marshals and some young recruits to report to you. You saw that brand new Ford truck we drove up in, well that would be yours to perform your duties. We want to install a telephone in the office so we can communicate with you."