The coroner flung a question at the witness as though it were a weapon,
"Ever carry a gun, Mr. Hull?"
The big man on the stand dabbed at his veined face with the bandanna.
He answered, with an ingratiating whine. "I ain't no gunman, sir.
Never was."
"Ever ride the range?"
"Well, yes, as you might say," the witness answered uneasily.
"Carried a six-shooter for rattlesnakes, didn't you?"
"I reckon, but I never went hellin' around with it."
"Wore it to town with you when you went, I expect, as the other boys did."
"Mebbeso."
"What caliber was it?"
"A .38, sawed-off."