"Why, shore! Think I go 'round killin' men, like Greener does, just for th' fun of it?"
"He doesn't do anything of the kind," she retorted. "You know he does n't! Did n't you just say he blinks when he shoots off a gun?"
"Yes; I did. But I didn't want you to think he was a murderer like Nolan," he explained. Even Cookie, he thought, would find it hard to get around that neat little effort.
"I 'm so relieved," she laughed, delighted at her success in twisting him. "I am so glad he does n't blink when he shoots. I 'd hate a man who was afraid to shoot."
Johnny's chest arose a little. "Well, how 'bout me?"
"But you've killed men; you've shot down your fellow men; and have ghastly marks on your revolver to brag about."
"Well—say—but how can I shoot without shootin' or kill without killin'?" he demanded. "An' I don't brag about 'em, neither; it makes me feel too sad to do any braggin'. An' Greener's killed 'em, too; an' he brags about it."
"Yes; but he doesn't blink!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
"Neither do I."
"Yes; but you shoot to kill."