text: [Themes: Western, humor, male protagonist, strong NPCs, prison]
  
  > describe your surroundings
  There's a big, wooden desk in the middle of the room. Just behind the desk is a fancy cabinet, with real glass in the door. An aesthetically questionable portrait of the sheriff hangs on the office wall. To the side of the desk, there is a weird-looking contraption: clearly, some sort of steam boiler which is connected by pipes to a strange-looking machine. On the opposite side of the room, two swinging doors lead back to town; a small bell hangs on a hook attached to the door. Flash's empty dog food bowl is nailed to the floor just in front of your jail cell.
  
  Muddy leans against the wall.
  
  A dented food bowl sits on the office floor, only a few feet from the jail bars.
  
  You can also see the deputy here.
  
  A broken stool lies on the floor.
  
  In the corner of the cell, a disheveled man in a black suit is stretched out on a crude wooden bench and is snoring loudly, oblivious to your presence.
  
  In the jail cell you can also see an empty can (empty).
  
  > talk about the patent
  Is you talking plain English? I ain't following the words coming out of your lips. Mayhaps it's your accent.
  
  > Leave
  Which way? West to the jail cell, or east towards the open range?
  
  > go to the east
  Muddy relents and says, "All right, Rick. I reckon we done what we can do. Let's make for the hills."
  
  As you head out of the office, two men appear in the doorway: Sheriff Cheney and Federal Marshal McLuhan. They are followed by a small detachment of U.S. Army guards.
  
  Sheriff Cheney surges forward, pointing his finger at you and Muddy, "It were these two what blown up that train tunnel! They's escaping when we walked in! Look, they done killed my deputy! We should drop 'em where they stand."
  
  The marshal looks uncertain and waves the army guards forward. They train their pistols on you.
  
  The marshal rests his hand on the sheriff's trigger arm and says, "Sheriff, without any evidence to substantiate your accusation regarding the train robbery, I was reluctant to see these men hanged without a trial. Given the corpse of a lawman in front of us, though, even I have to agree that justice should be swift and definitive in this instance."
  
  > give the receipt to the marshal
  You show the marshal the receipt and suggest that the sheriff is quite in debt, and might turn to illegal activities to pay it off.
  
  The marshal looks disappointed and says, "Being in debt is no crime, although it does eat away at the soul. Once, I went an entire week owing more than five dollars, and I regret it to this day. However, there is nothing to suggest that the sheriff has resorted to any illegal measures to fund his plans."
  
  Muddy whispers, "Rick, we ain't got long. I reckon that marshal is someone what can be reasoned with."
  
  > give the patent to the marshal
  You show the patent to the marshal and intimate that the sheriff had extensive business plans, far beyond his mandate as a public servant.
  
  The marshal flips through the patent for the sheriff's invention and looks at you questioningly.
  
  "So?" he asks. "It seems like a clever enough invention, and I presume this work was not done on public time, or using town resources. I also would guess that he will need some big-time investors to put a plan like this into action, but I don't see anything wrong with that. The sheriff's a businessman pure and simple. There isn't anything more American than a man willing to make a profit, when the profit is there for the taking."
  
  The marshal advises, "Citizens, I am required by federal law as it applies to the Territory to advise you that CAPITAL CHARGES have been filed against you, and summary execution will take place, unless evidence to the contrary can be brought to light."
  
  The sheriff rolls his eyes, "For the sake of all that's Hog-Tied and Rightful, whyn't we shoot 'em dead right here?"
  
  The marshal looks at Sheriff Cheney and answers, "Because some of us believe in maintaining some semblance of due process."
  
  > give note to the marshal
  The marshal reads the note and then looks up. He says evenly, "While this does speak unkindly of the sheriff, his personal life does not interest me. The content of this note is not germane to the matter at hand."
  
  The sheriff wholeheartedly agrees, "Exactly. You is exactly right, marshal."
  
  The marshal looks back at the sheriff with a hint of annoyance.
  
  Muddy whispers, "We got to show that marshal something. I reckon maybe we could make up some kind of excuse or shift the blame, maybe."
  
  > give the telegram to the marshal
  You show the telegram to Marshal McLuhan, telling him that he'll find the sheriff's stagecoach full of stolen silver just behind the jail.
  
  Sheriff Cheney wipes his brow nervously, "I forgot that's where we left that coach. I do reckon I'm always forgetting where I park. I was going to mention the silver as evidence any second now."
  
  The marshal dispatches two guards to search behind the office, and when they return with corroboration about the stolen silver, the marshal instructs his guards to restrain and disarm the sheriff, concluding, "So, now it is clear. The sheriff took advantage of the railway incident to rob the train's silver himself in order to finance the development of his invention into a business. He framed these two itinerant laborers to shift the blame. No wonder he wanted them killed so quickly."
  
  The marshal rips the gold star off Sheriff Cheney's shirt and instructs the guards, "Place Mr. Cheney behind bars."
  
  With a wide yawn, Pastor Pete walks out of the cell as the guards wrestle the sheriff past him. "I do reckon I slept like the dead last night. Thank you for a peaceful night, deputy," and he walks out the front door.
  
  The marshal raises his eyebrows but continues, "Deputy James Smith Bush, by the power invested in me as federal marshal of this district, I hereby promote you to Sheriff of the Town of Crawdad's Gulch. Congratulations." The newly appointed sheriff grins and shakes his hand. The marshal almost pins the star to Jimbo's bare chest, but stops short and just hands it to him. The marshal advises him, "James, you'll probably want to get yourself some deputies -- men you can trust."
  
  Sheriff Jim looks over to you and Muddy. The color drains from Muddy's face.