"I'm sorry, Tom," he said. "But I think I'll let you have this one after all."
Thurman looked surprised. "What's the matter, Bill?" he asked.
William Karsten sighed. "I think I used to know him."
"Oh," Thurman said. And then he frowned. "You're sure it's not just because he's so small that you're giving him up?" he questioned.
"No. Quite sure. I think he was one of my professors back in college."
"Oh, well, then," Thurman said. He put his gun to his shoulder and took careful aim.
"Shoot for the body, Tom," Karsten whispered to him. "Don't want to spoil the head."
Thurman pulled the trigger. The explosion split the quiet air apart and cast the pieces of silence as echoes up and down the little canyon.