Placing his hand on the Bible, he replied, "I, Charlie Wentworth, swear to uphold the laws of Kalispell, the County of Flathead, and the Territory of Montana to the best of my ability, so help me God."

Now that he was a sworn deputy, Charlie felt a sense of pride in that he was accomplishing something that might turn out to be worthwhile. Maybe the Reverend was right in saying that sometimes you have go to through a bad time to get to the good. From this day on, he was determined to make sure that he would be the best lawman he could possibly be. All that was left was to tell his family.

After taking a quick glance around the room and back to the Marshall, he wondered what to do next. The most logical thing to do was ask, "So, do I start now or would tomorrow be fine?"

"You need to get something done? Not a problem, Charlie, do what you need to." Speed said with a smile. "So as of four minutes ago, you are now on duty. You are now my Deputy, so anything happens, we in it together. That being said, if you really need to be off the rest of the day, sure thing, I doubt there'll be any threat to the peace if you're not here. Fact is, this is generally a quiet job."

Speed was really easy to work with. A tour of the building, upstairs and down, that sort of thing, could be done anytime, If he wanted to show off his badge, that was alright too. He was young, and being a Deputy was important, and somewhat impressive, to the fairer sex, if in fact that was his plan.

Contrary to what Marshall Guyer was thinking, Charlie had no intention of using his new position to attract the fairer sex. For now, all he was interested in doing was getting his life straightened out and learning to curb his desire for strong liquor. Having a safe job like a ranch hand was all good if you intended to have a safe life which included marrying and raising a family. Now that Clara was out of the picture, Charlie felt that he wanted to try other things until he found something that stuck. Hopefully, being a lawman was it.

"The only thing that needs to be done is to tell my family, especially my mother. The last thing I would want is for her to find out about this second-hand," he replied, "As for it being quiet, I reckon that might be a good thing while I'm learning the job. When or if a storm does comes, I hope I'll be up to it."

Speed suppressed a laugh, but could not contain the smile. "No, I didn't mean you keeping quiet, not at all. It's the town that's quiet, most of the time. Fact is, trouble is actually rare around here, you'll do a lot of making rounds, talking with the merchants, folks on the boardwalks, that sort of thing. And maybe a fight to break up on Saturday night." Though even that was uncommon anymore.

No, Kalispell was a quiet little wide spot in the road. Even with the initial influx of folks from Whitefish, that had dissipated once the thaw took hold. People moved on, some stayed and became a part of the fabric of Kalispell, most offering goods and services that were needed, or rebuilding their farms where there was land available, small ranches and the like.

"Letting your Mother know is the proper thing to do, for sure. Is she local?" Speed asked.

"She's local now. Only arrived in town at the beginning of May shortly after my Pa brought the bank," he smiled, "Mother hasn't done much since arriving but I get the feeling that she' been getting the lay of the land and might be getting some ideas on what the town needs."

"Well, I guess I'd better going now," he said as he held out his hand, "Thanks again for giving this opportunity, I hope I don't disappoint."

"We start early around here, see you about seven." He advised. "Take care of what you need to. We did somethings, maybe get in some target practice as well. Glad to have you on board, and I seriously doubt you'll disappoint. Make some mistakes? Sure, we all do, and have done, but we learn."

Speed knew that yes, Charlie would make mistakes, however, it was up to him to make sure it didn't cost Charlie life or limb, if at all possible. Kalispell was not Dodge, or Abilene. The action he and Pike had seen were exceptions, rather than the rule. Yet danger was out there and to be on guard about from bar fights to drunks brandishing a gun.