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“Yes” Crow tracks of a both hands, she lifted the gun straight out from her and closed one eye to squint down the barrel Her heart was beating madly in her throat “Don’t try to airip of her right hand to lay a forefinger along the barrel “Pretend you’re pointing your finger at the tree and squeeze the trigger”
The instructions sounded very siht she had done what he told her When she squeezed the trigger, the gun exploded and seeht out of her hands Instinctively she closed her eyes
“You shot off a leaf on the top of the tree,” Benteen inforain, but this tier at the spot you’re looking at”
“I don’t knoe’re doing this,” Lorna protested, wanting to end the lessons now “I’”
“I hope you never have to,” Benteen stated “Try again”
Lorna tried again—and yet again—with the saun?” he asked
She had to stop and count how many times she and Benteen had fired it “One”
“Always leave one bullet in the gun Never fire that last one at anything” His expression was so serious that it simply made Lorna more uneasy about this whole experience “Save it for yourself”
“So I won’t be taken alive by Indians” Every fe the captured by Indians Lorna was no exception She shuddered at the thought With today’sfresh in her mind, she tried to reason away her fear with the unlikelihood of it ever being necessary “You don’t really believe that Spotted Elk or his band would attack us, do you?”
“I wasn’t thinking of these reservation Indians so much as I was the Sioux up in the Montana Territory” Benteen slipped ain”
“Why don’t I practice another time?” Lorna felt shaky inside
“No We’re gonna stay here until you either hit the tree trunk or I run out of bullets”
It was typically quiet around caainst their saddles, rolled cigarettes dangling fro one of the cow ponies over by the chuck wagon, the tap of his ha on the har next to two drovers, all ears as they traded tall tales
Lorna was sitting with Mary Ely had drawn first watch on night herd and Benteen was out round to see that all was quiet In the di needle made quick flashes of silver as it darted in and out to secure a button to one of Benteen’s shirts Lorna had already related to Mary an account of her first shooting lesson that afternoon, and Benteen’s warning about saving a last bullet That seemed to amuse Mary
“Why are you s like that?” Lorna frowned