Wolfville Nights by Alfred Henry Lewis
page 33 of 279 (11%)
page 33 of 279 (11%)
|
"As Dan begins to crowd him, Silver Phil turns in the saddle an' shoots. The lead goes 'way off yonder--wild. Dan, grim an' silent, rides on without returnin' the fire. "'Which I wouldn't dishonour them guns of mine,' says Dan, explainin' later the pheenomenon of him not shootin' none, 'which I wouldn't dishonour them guns by usin' 'em on varmints like this yere Silver Phil.' "As Silver Phil reorganises for a second shot his bronco stumbles. Silver Phil pitches from the saddle an' strikes the grass to one side. As he half rises, Dan lowers on him like the swoop of a hawk. It's as though Dan's goin' to snatch a handkerchief from the ground. "As Dan flashes by, he swings low from the saddle an' his right hand takes a troo full grip on that outlaw's shoulder. Dan has the thews an' muscles of a cinnamon b'ar, an' Silver Phil is only a scrap of a man. As Dan straightens up in the stirrups, he heaves this Silver Phil on high to the length of his long arm; an' then he dashes him ag'inst the flint-hard earth; which the manoover--we-all witnesses it from mebby a quarter of a mile--which the manoover that a-way is shore remorseless! This Silver Phil is nothin' but shattered bones an' bleedin' pulp. He strikes the plains like he's crime from the clouds an' is dead without a quiver. "'Bury him? No!' says Old Man Enright to Dave Tutt who asks the question. 'Let him find his bed where he falls. "While Enright speaks, an' as Dan rides up to us at the Red Light, a |
|