Previous Next

Paul Scallen’s toughness, bravery, and skill allow him to do his job well and to earn the respect of his adversaries. For Scallen, being a marshal has little to do with morality or ideology. He simply wants to bring home a salary to support his wife and children. For this reason, he does not judge Kidd’s character or criminal actions. Scallen has no reason to hate Kidd or to want to mistreat him. He doesn’t have any personal connection to the case, or anyone involved in it, and he has no strong feelings, good or bad, toward any of the involved parties.

Nevertheless, Scallen is motivated by his family's dependence on him to do his job and to stay alive and he is therefore fully prepared to shoot Kidd if he tries to attack him or escape. His dedication and ability both earn Scallen a knowing respect from Kidd and the two strike up an unexpected and uneasy camaraderie over the course of the story. The two men share some details, albeit brief ones, about their respective lives before that day, and Scallen rolls cigarettes for himself and Kidd. The lack of enmity between the two adversaries suggests that Scallen might have made a good criminal and the two men might have been acquaintances under different circumstances. But Scallen’s choice to be a deputy and make his living honestly reveals something different about Scallen: he is a man who would rather do things the right way than make a quick buck dishonorably.

Previous section Character List Next section Jim Kidd

Take a Study Break