As they passed by him they waved at Buck, who was feeding the hogs. After riding about a quarter hour he stopped under a tree.
“We can leave the horses here where they can graze.” He handed her the canteen. “I’ll carry the gunny sack and guns.”
When they’d reached where he planned, he stopped and laid the rifle and boxes of ammunition on the ground, careful not to leave the rifle in a dusty spot. “This will be a good place. You wait here while I set up your targets. The cans are dirty and you won’t want to handle them.”
She waited with her hand shading her eyes as she watched him. He set the cans up in a row atop some boulders at the bottom of a high chalky ridge. There was no way of hitting anything but the side of the ridge if she missed the target.
When he’d set up a dozen, he walked to rejoin her. “We’ll start with the rifle since it’s hardest. Well, at least it’s heaviest.”
He showed her how to hold it, cock it, and aim. “Don’t close your eyes when you pull the trigger. Keep the barrel in position for a few seconds after you’ve fired. If you drop the barrel, you’ll be shooting at the ground.”
She frowned she hefted the rifle. “Heavens, should I have brought paper and a pencil to take notes?”
“Don’t get testy. Now, aim carefully right along the barrel. You have a can in sight?”
“Squeeze the trigger, don’t jerk it.”
She fired and a can flew into the air.
He let out a whoop. “Atta girl, you did it on your first try. Congratulations, Mina.” He hugged her shoulder.
Her expression was solemn as she looked into this face. “Austin, I think I’d better be honest. That wasn’t the can I aimed at.”
He kept his arm around her. “Which one did you aim for?”
“The one on the right.”
“The rifle never has pulled to the left. Let me try it to be sure.” He took the rifle, lined up his shot, and hit a can.
With a grin she asked, “Was that the one you meant to hit?”
He laughed and handed her the rifle. “Yes, so you try again. I’m sure you can do it.”
“All right, I’ll do my best.” She took a deep breath and aimed.
This time another can flew into the air.
She turned to him. “I did it. That really was the one I intended to hit.”
“Great, now try a few more shots.”
Out of three additional tries, she hit two cans.
“That’s good. You’ll be ready for a Wild West Show soon. Let’s try the revolver.”
He showed her how to load it and told her about some people leaving one chamber empty so they wouldn’t shoot themselves accidentally.
“For our practice today, we’ll load all chambers. You can hold the gun with both hands or you can hold it with one.” He demonstrated how to fire then handed the Colt .45 to her.
“Good heavens, this is heavy and unwieldy. I’d better use both hands.”
He raised her arms slightly. “Remember, squeeze the trigger without jerking. Fire at several cans to see how you do.”
She fired until she’d emptied the gun. “I see I should have gone slower. I missed several times.”
“You hit three out of six. That’s a good result for your first time.”
“I hope I never need to use this knowledge.”
“Decent folks always hope that, Mina. Even so, we have to be able to defend ourselves against the criminals who prey on good people. There are all kinds of critters to defend against, too.” He carried his rifle and the remaining cans.
She carried the canteen and the boxes of bullets. “Thank you for helping me, Austin. I want to be prepared for all circumstances.”
He replaced the rifle and stored the gunny sack at the base of a tree. “I’ll leave this here for another day.”
They each climbed into the saddle and turned toward the house. They hadn’t ridden far before Ferguson confronted them.
The miner pointed a rifle at Austin. “We reckon you’re the one who sent the sheriff out to bother us again. I told you we leased that land and have a right to mine there. You and your kind can butt out or face the consequences.”
“You’re trespassing on my land now, Ferguson. I told you the truth and Bailey cheated you. He salted that mine with gold because there are no gold mines in this part of Texas. You ought to be mad at Bailey, not at me or the other ranchers.”
“Don’t you tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. Me and Otto got ever’thin’ set up and we aim to start streamin’ water at the cave soon as I get back there. Nothin’ you can do about it, neither.”
“You’re making a big mistake, Ferguson. Some of the other ranchers and farmers are talking of forming a vigilante group. I don’t want any part of that kind of action, but that won’t stop a bunch of them. They’ll hang you or shoot you.”
“The devil they will! If there’s any shootin’, I’ll be the one doin’ it.” He took aim and fired at Austin, hitting him in the left shoulder. Ferguson blinked as if surprised he’d shot Austin.
Austin slumped and reached for his revolver. He had trouble staying upright but he got the gun out of his waistband. Dadburn, like some tenderfoot he hadn’t reloaded.
Mina screamed and pulled his rifle from the saddle scabbard. “Look what you’ve done, you madman. Get out of here or I swear I’ll kill you.”
Ferguson turned tail and rode away at a gallop.
She returned his gun
