# Mr. Marshal — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Marshal in Short Fiction by R. A. Lafferty.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Marshal

**First appearance:** 0000-the-six-fingers-of-time

## Snapshot

A small-town lawman whose routine night is shattered by a four-inch tyrant demanding a stolen tax list, forcing him to weigh his authority against a power that claims to own the world.

## Who they are

Marshal is the local official who gets called when the uncanny spills into his jurisdiction, whether it's a shrunken Manuel with a census slip or a miniature despot on his bedside table. He's skeptical, blunt, and slow to believe in anything he can't arrest, which makes him a perfect foil for the little people's grandiose claims of owning the world by written title. His stubborn disbelief and grudging compliance anchor the story's early collision between ordinary law and the absurd.

## Relationships

### [Texas Manuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/texas_manuel)

_rivalry_

Mr. Marshal is a law enforcement officer who views Texas Manuel as a primary target, leading to a cat-and-mouse adversarial dynamic.

### [Texas Manuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/texas_manuel)

_rivalry_

Mr. Marshal is a law enforcement officer who views Texas Manuel as a primary target, leading to a cat-and-mouse adversarial dynamic.

## In the story

### [Sodom and Gomorrah, Texas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/chapters/sodom-and-gomorrah-texas)

The census chief of High Plains, pressured to inflate the town's population to ten thousand; he certifies Manuel's list of a million names without verification.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/mr_marshal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters