"There's your peaceful prairie hanging, in
its early stage."
"What!" says he, sick and hot at the same time. "How can you speak of
the death of a human being so heartlessly? Let me go!"
"Hold!" says I. "You haven't heard me through. Perhaps you can be
more use than to run away and hide your eyes. I ain't got a' word to
say against quick law. I've seen her work, and she works to a point.
She beats having the lawyers sieving all the justice out of it. All
the same, they've been too careless around here--that, and a small bad
boy's desire to get their names up. I know one case where they hung a
perfectly innocent man, for fun, and to brag about it."
He looked at me steady. I had suspected him of being no coward, when
it comes to cases.
"Now," I says, "I don't know what that is down there. Perhaps it's all
right; then you and me has got to stand by. If not--well, by the
sacred photograph of Mary Ann, here's one roping that won't be an
undiluted pleasure. Now listen. I'm something of a high private, when
it comes to war, but no man is much more than one man, if the other
side's blood is bad. Give 'em to me cold, and I can throw a crimp into
'em, for I don't care a hoot at any stage of the game, and they do.
But when they're warm--why, a hole between the eyes will stop me just
as quick as though I wasn't Chantay Seeche Red. Are you with me? You
never took longer chances in your life.
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