“It isn’t the usual thing, but I guess we can fix you up,” said the policeman.
He called another officer to take charge of the desk and led the way into a rear room where there was a whole rack of guns.
“Look these over and take your choice.”
The night captain opened the case and Bob tried half a dozen revolvers in his hand until he found one that was balanced to suit him.
“This feels like a good gun,” he said. “I’ll take it.”
From another case the captain produced a generous supply of ammunition.
“There’s a range downstairs if you’d like to try your marksmanship,” he volunteered.
Bob knew that in the coming hours he might find himself in a position where a trusty gun would be a life saver and he accepted the captain’s invitation.
His finger was steady and the pressure on the trigger smooth. As a result he turned in a surprisingly good score and the policeman whistled when he saw the card Bob shot out.
“Good work, boy. Anytime you get tired of this federal manhunting just let me know and I’ll see that you have a job here.”