“Put it away!” I ordered, though I knew the words were wasted.
“It’s me or you!” he repeated, and put another bullet into the ground in front of me. “Warm your iron!”
I stopped looking for an out. Blood thickened in my head, and things began to look queer. I could feel my neck thickening. I hoped I wasn’t going to get too mad to shoot straight.
I went for my gun.
He gave me an even break.
His gun swung down to me as mine straightened to him.
We pulled triggers together.
Flame jumped at me.
I smacked the ground—my right side all numb.
He was staring at me—bewildered. I stopped staring at him, and looked at my gun—the gun that had only clicked when I pulled the trigger!
When I looked up again, he was coming toward me, slowly, his gun hanging at his side.
“Played it safe, huh?” I raised my gun so he could see the broken firing-pin. “Serves me right for leaving it on the bed when I went downstairs for water.”
Milk River dropped his gun—grabbed mine.
Clio Landes came running from the hotel to him.
“You’re not—?”
Milk River stuck my gun in her face.