Rosalie often spoke to
Anderson of this mysterious sender as the "fairy godmother"; but the old
marshal had a deeper and more significant opinion.
Perhaps the most anxious period in the life of Anderson Crow came when
Rosalie was about ten years old. A new sheriff had been elected in
Bramble County, and he posed as a reformer. His sister taught school in
Tinkletown, and Rosalie was her favourite. She took an interest in the
child that was almost the undoing of Mr. Crow's prosperity. Imagining
that she was befriending the girl, the teacher appealed to her brother,
the sheriff, insisting that he do what he could to solve the mystery of
her birth. The sheriff saw a chance to distinguish himself. He enlisted
the help of an aggressive prosecuting attorney, also new, and set about
to investigate the case.
The two officers of the law descended upon Tinkletown one day and began
to ask peremptory questions. They went about it in such a high-handed,
lordly manner that Anderson took alarm and his heart sank like lead. He
saw in his mind's eye the utter collapse of all his hopes, the dashing
away of his cup of leisure and the upsetting of the "fairy godmother's"
plans. Pulling his wits together, he set about to frustrate the attack
of the meddlers. Whether it was his shrewdness in placing obstacles in
their way or whether he coerced the denizens into blocking the sheriff's
investigation does not matter.
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