Lifesaver [Engl.]

23. A burglar and a strange person

Rango had palpitations. He couldn't believe what he was doing. But he did.
"The end justifies the means. The end justifies the means, "he muttered over and over as he tampered the front door of the small doctor's office. He had never broken into a house before.
It was past midnight and the doctor still hadn't come back. Eventually Rango couldn't wait any longer. Whether the doctor was there or not, he needed the medicines now. Even if he had to ruin his life for it.
Sighing, he pulled the wire out of the old door lock. In movies it always looked so easy to open a door with a wire.
He went around the house. The windows were not high. He could easily break one of them and get into the house.
He searched the ground and found a stone, then he looked for a good place to break a window.
The chameleon went around the house again and peered into every window. When he found the room where the doctor's office was, he carefully placed the stone on the window glass. He struck the stone gently against the window pane. Nothing happened after the first blow. Nothing happened after the second time either. He didn't hit hard enough. Rango didn't want to make any noise, otherwise the desert dog would wake up.
He took another deep breath and this time he hit the glass harder. The glass pane cracked. He hit twice harder, but not too hard, and the glass splintered. He paused for a while until he was sure that no one in the house had woken up. Then he unlocked the window and quietly pushed it open. Carefully, he stuck his head through the window and looked around the room.
No doubt. He was in the treatment room. Everything what a small practice needed was here. A couch, a table with a chair for the doctor, shelves with books and ... the medicine cabinet.
He stepped quietly through the window and tiptoed across the room. He stopped in front of the medicine cabinet and looked around again in all directions. When he was sure that nobody was watching him, he took a closer look at the medicine cabinet. It has been a glass cabinet with just a simple old door lock. In the faint moonlight, that came through the window, he recognized the inscriptions on the medicine bottles. His heart jumped with joy when he saw a bottle labeled antibiotic. He grabbed the closet door and tried to open it. But it had locked.
"Damn it!" He cursed. How should he get at it now?
He looked around for a key, but of course it was hidden somewhere.
No doctor would be so reckless and to leave a medicine cabinet open.
Rango's mind raced like crazy. He rubbed his forehead wearily. But in this case, he probably had no other choice.
His gaze wandered to the doctor's table, where a paperweight lay. He quickly grabbed it and hit the glass with it. There was a loud clink. Rango froze in shock and listened intently into the darkness. But everything remained silent. A little relieved, he carefully pushed the broken glass aside and picked up the antibiotic bottle.
"That's enough, my friend!"
Rango was so frightened that he was paralyzed for a moment. Suddenly two arms grabbed him from behind and his hands were pressed behind his back.
"Just break in here and steal something, that might suit you!" The strange voice thundered threateningly.
"Ouch!" Rango shouted as the strange figure knocked him over and pressed him to the ground. Then a beam of light fell into his face. Rango screwed up his eyes when he was dazzled with by light.
"He already tried to gain unauthorized entry this morning," a voice said. Rango recognized that it was the desert dog.
"Don't worry," the strange figure said, who had grabbed him so roughly. "He won't be able to break in anywhere anytime soon."
Rango heard something clink. The next thing he felt were cold handcuffs.
"Hey!" Rango protested. "Let go of me. I'm a sheriff. I just wanted some medicines."
"And I'm the officer in charge here," the strange figure replied. "And I can draw your attention to the fact that you have just committed a crime."
"That's a failure to render assistance!" Rango countered.
"And for me this is a clear case of trespassing and attempted theft," the officer explained and pulled him up.

Spoons had separated himself from the others and was staring expectantly into the distance. The city lay behind him and seemed to be sleeping soundly. But appearances were deceptive.
"Still nothing?" Elgin asked.
Spoons shook his head. "No, and I don't know why he's been away for so long."
"Did something happen to him?" Buford asked thoughtfully.
"Oh." Elgin waved his hand in a dismissive way. "He'll be fine."
"Well, I don't know," Spoons said. "Today I have rheumatism all day again. I tell you, that's a bad omen."
"Maybe it's because you saw a rattlesnake."
The three looked up when they heard the tower clock chime. 3 a.m. Elgin yawned. "Beans will come soon."
"Here she comes," Buford said and nodded slightly towards the city.
"And?" Beans asked expectantly. "Is he back?"
Everyone shook their heads. "No."
Beans put her rifle on the floor in silence.
"I don't understand that," she muttered quietly.
Spoons, Elgin and Buford glanced at each other uncertainly.
Finally, Beans shouldered her rifle again and walked straight to Doc, who was still on guard next to Jake.
"You can go home," she said to the three men. "I'll take over the night watch now."
Elgin shrugged. "That's up to you."
The three left the square and disappeared into town.
Doc sat tired in the sand and had trouble keeping his eyes open. He suppressed a yawn when he saw Beans approaching.
"Oh, Beans. What time is it?"
Beans raised his eyebrows. "3 o'clock in the morning. Didn't you hear the tower clock?"
The doctor yawned. "I must have dozed off for a moment."
Beans smiled. "That's okay, Doc."
Her gaze fell on Jake, who was partly curled up and was asleep.
Doc rose quietly. "He's sleeping. That's good."
Carefully, Beans felt the towels. "The towels have cooled down a bit again."
Doc yawned again. "Uhh ... then we'd better take the towels down and light the campfire again. Then it won't cool down so quickly. "
Beans looked at Doc that he was too tired to work. Beans couldn't blame him. "That's fine. I'll do it. Go take a rest. "
"Are you sure you can manage on your own?"
"Doc!" Beans said with mock indignation.
"It's okay, it's okay," Doc said sleepily and shuffled down the street with slow steps.
Beans watched him go. Then she gently pulled the towels down from Jake's neck. Jake moved a little and mumbled something in his sleep. "Take it easy," Beans whispered. "Go back to sleep."
She couldn't tell whether Jake recognized her voice. Because no sooner had she said that than Jake was calm again.
Beans had amazed at her words. She would never have said that to Jake in the past. But in this case, she couldn't punish him with harsh words. For a moment she wondered if there was any truth that Jake somehow belonging to the city.
After Beans had removed all the cloths, she put more wood in the surrounding campfires. When she was done with that, she moved away from Jake and got a deck chair from the beach, which she placed at some distance next to Jake.
Groaning, she rubbed her back. All the work and excitement had made her very tired. A little exhausted, she sat down on the deck chair and leaned back with a relieved sigh. Silently she looked at the stars. They looked so innocent and calm. But Beans felt completely perplexed and restless. The whole time she was bothered by one question: Where was Rango?
She listened to the stillness of the night. She heard the campfires crackling softly and the cold wind was blowing over the landscape. Beans pulled the blanket closer. The night was cold. She smiled. The coolness brought back her memories of that night, how she and Rango had looked into the distance and talked about the walking cactuses. Rango's fleeting kiss. She snuggled into the blanket and wished Rango would be next to her.
After almost half an hour, her eyes became heavy. But she wasn't allowed to sleep.
Just don't fall asleep. Think of Rango ...
But after an hour Beans could no longer keep her eyes open and fell asleep. Half asleep, she heard the faint crackling of the fire and the silence that gently lulled her to sleep ...
Suddenly Beans started. She thought she heard something. Some slight crunch. She quickly sat up in the deck chair and looked around in all directions. But there was nothing suspicious to be seen. She turned around. Jake was still lying motionless on the floor and was sleeping. After a while, Beans shrugged. Maybe Jake had only moved in his sleep, or maybe she was wrong.
She listened for a while. Then she leaned back in her deck chair and didn't bother falling asleep again.
But then ... Another noise. This time closer. Beans got up and looked around. It certainly wasn't a delusion. There was someone. But who? Was it Rango?
"Rango, is that you?"
Suddenly quick steps were hearable. Someone ran away.
Without hesitation, Beans picked up her rifle and ran after the fleeing figure.
"Who's there?! Stop! Halt!"
But the figure did not think of stopping. On the contrary. Instead, she quickened her pace. Beans ran faster, too.
In the faint light of the moon, she could only make out indistinct outlines. The figure wore a kind of coat and hat. The stranger ran behind the city into the open desert area, where Beans could see a roadrunner some distance away. The figure jumped up and galloped away.
"Stop!" Beans shouted again. "Freeze!"
Beans fired a warning shot in the air, but the figure was already gone.
Shortly afterwards, all the lights went on in the houses of the city. Some tore the windows open and stared outside in shock, wondering who had shot there.
Shortly afterwards, Beans heard hurried footsteps behind her.
"What's going on?" Waffles asked excitedly.
"Who shot?" Elgin asked.
"That was me," Beans said, still staring into the distance where the stranger had disappeared.
"What was going on?" Buford asked.
Beans screwed up his eyes. "I don't know. But there was someone."
"And who?" Waffles asked.
Beans snorted angrily. "I don't know. But I hope he won't come back anytime soon."
With that, she turned and marched back to her post.
Waffles, Elgin, and Buford glanced at each other questioningly.
Elgin's face darkened. "We should reinforce the guards."
"What was going on?" Miss Oats asked Beans as she walked past her.
"Nothing," Beans replied monotonously. "Just an annoying troublemaker."
Miss Oats chewed her fingernails nervously.
Jake, awakened by the shot, looked at her questioningly.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Beans answered and lay back on the deck chair. "At least I hope so."