Story, first published: Planet Stories, Summer 1944
Simak began a series of amusing stories about Mr. Meek, a mild-mannered bookkeeper who fulfills his dream' of thirty years of becoming a spaceman. In the first story, "Mr. Meek - Musketeer" ..., Mr. Meek goes on vacation cruising the Solar System in his own spaceship. He lands on the asteroid Juno, batwings his way into a notorious miner's bar (the story is more horse opera than space opera), and wins a shoot-out over cheating in a poker game. The town wants him to be their new sheriff, but only after being threatened does Meek take the job.
Meek only wants to find the local Loch Ness monster, the Asteroid Prowler, and do some archaeological research. Meek gets his wish - he is kidnapped and dumped on the surface of Juno. Meek even acquires a sidekick, not Smiley Burnette or Gabby Hayes, but an old prospector, Stiffy Grant. The rest of the story is predictable to anyone remembering the old Saturday afternoon matinees - Meek, of course, makes friends with the terrible monster, and he and Stiffy ride the Prowler back to town. They bring the criminals to justice who are trying to steal a lost mine and in the conclusion, a meteor, loaded with radium ore, strikes Juno making Stiffy and Meek rich. The story is fun, admirably suited to Planet's editorial policy, and readers liked it.
Ewald, Robert J.: When the Fires Burn High and the Wind is from the North, p.33-34