My notion is that you better pull your freight some instant.
Thar's a half-formed thought in the public bosom that if anybody
sees your trail to-morry, all hands'll turn in an' arrange you for
the grave.'
"'Never mind about arrangin' nothin',' says Shotgun; 'I quits you
after the next drink; which libation I takes alone.' An' Shotgun
rides away.
"What is the matter with Shotgun? Well, he's one of these yere
murderin' folks, goin' about downin' Mexicans merely to see 'em
kick, an' that sort of thing, an' all of which no se'f-respectin'
outfit stands. He wins out his name 'Shotgun' them times when he's
dep'ty marshal over at Prescott.
"'You must be partic'lar an' serve your warrant on a gent before you
downs him,' says the judge, as he gives Shotgun some papers. 'First
serve your warrant, an' then it's legal to kill him; but not
without!'
"So Shotgun Dowling takes this yere warrant an' crams it down the
muzzle of a shotgun an' hammers her out flat on top them buckshot.
"'Thar you be!' says Dowling. 'I reckons' now the warrant gets to
him ahead of the lead; which makes it on the level.'
"Tharupon Shotgun canters out an' busts his gent--warrant, lead an'
all--an' that gives him the name of 'Shotgun' Dowling.
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