“The second gyard looks up; an’ as he does, Silver Phil gives him both bar’ls.  Forty-two buckshot; an’ that gyard’s so clost he stops ’em all!  As he lays dead, Silver Phil breaks the Greener in two, an’ throws, one after the other, stock an’ bar’l at him.

“‘Which I’ll show you-all what happens when folks loads a gun for me!’ says Silver Phil.

“Nacherally, this artillery practice turns out the entire plaza.  The folks is standin’ about the ‘doby which confines Silver Phil, wonderin’ whatever that enthoosiast’s goin’ to do next.  No, they don’t come after him, an’ I’ll tell you why.  Shore, thar’s twenty gents lookin’ on, any one of whom, so far as personal apprehensions is involved, would trail Silver Phil single-handed into a wolf’s den.  Which he’d feel plumb confident he gets away with Silver Phil an’ the wolves thrown in to even up the odds.  Still, no one stretches forth to capture Silver Phil on this yere voylent o’casion.  An’ these is the reasons.  Thar’s no reg’lar offishul present whose dooty it is to rope up this Silver Phil.  If sech had chanced to be thar, you can put down a stack he’d come a-runnin’, an’ him or Silver Phil would have caught up with the two gyards on their journey into the beyond.  But when it gets down to private people volunteerin’ for dooty as marshals, folks in the Southwest goes some slothful to work.  Thar’s the friends of the accoosed—­an’ as a roole he ain’t none friendless—­who would mighty likely resent sech zeal.  Also, in the case of Silver Phil, his captivity grows out of a cattle war.  One third the public so far as it stands about the ’doby where Silver Phil is hived that time is ‘Three-D’ adherents, mebby another third is ‘K-in-a-box’ folks, while the last third is mighty likely nootral.  Whichever way it breaks, however, thar’s a tacit stand-off, an’ never a sport of ’em lifts a finger or voice to head off Silver Phil.

“’Which she’s the inalien’ble right of Americans onder the constitootion to escape with every chance they gets,’ says one.

“‘That’s whatever!’ coincides his pard; ‘an’ moreover this ain’t our round-up nohow.’

“It’s in that fashion these private citizens adjusts their dooty to the state while pausin’ to look on, in a sperit of cur’osity while Silver Phil makes his next play.

“They don’t wait long.  Silver Phil comes out on the roof of a stoop in front.  He’s got a Winchester by now, an’ promptly throws the muzzle tharof on a leadin’ citizen.  Silver Phil allows he’ll plug this dignitary if they don’t send up a sport with a file to cut loose the laig-locks.  Tharupon the pop’lace, full of a warm interest by this time, does better.  They gropes about in the war-bags of the Virg Sanders sharp who stops the buckshot an’ gets his keys; a moment after, Silver Phil is free.