tion with his mind. Glancing down briefly he saw that
it dangled.

* * * * *

But the maggy was still there, held in the numb, unfeeling hand,
pointed limply at the ground.

He wondered if he had fired it yet.

"Drop it and fall down," advised Pierce's clear voice from somewhere.

There was a stirring and whisper from the blur of the crowd who stood
watching to see that the rules were observed. Beldman was walking
towards him.

"Do you end the duel?" asked someone, probably the second.

"No," the blur of Beldman answered and suddenly he came into focus,
walking up, his wide mouthed gun unwavering in his hand. Bryce
remembered the provisions of the duel. Fire until one is down and
weaponless. There was nothing said about remaining at a fixed
distance. Beldman intended to walk up close enough to shoot him
between the eyes. It was too late to let himself fall and end the
duel. Beldman would fire if he saw Bryce begin to fall now. He was
already close enough for a sure head shot.

Feeling was returning to his left arm. It dangled abnormally far and
probably looked broken and useless, but there was nothing actually
wrong with it, only something in his shoulder was broken. After the
first cold numbness of impact, sensation returned tingling in his
fingers, and pain was beginning to burn in his shoulder. Bryce waited
a few more seconds, feeling the control returning to his fingers, not
changing the glazed off focus of his eyes. How many duels had Beldman
won like this? The impact of one of those heavy slugs hitting bone was
a dazing blow, enough to stun some men, and he probably counted on
that effect.

The square figure lumbered closer, a lumpish clumsy caricature of the
self-made man, brutally strong, unashamedly misfit to the society of
the smooth-wise, smiling, easy mannered people that he and Bryce had
joined; a model of everything that Bryce was trying to destroy in
himself.

With a quick twist of the wrist Bryce swung his palm flat up flipping
the magnomatic muzzle into line with it and put a bullet into the
round face.

In that position of his hand the back kick of the shot twisted his arm
back in its broken shoulder and pulled the maggy from his hand, but it
didn't matter. The duel was over.

The motionless crowd dissolved again into talking individuals going to
lunch.

Pierce picked up the maggy and made the usual query of those who chose
to remain.

"Which of you h