odsy section, two guys of equal damfool-factor
advanced, came up standing, and faced one another across fifty feet of
open woods. Their rifles came up and yelled at one another like a string
of firecrackers; they wasted a lot of powder and lead by not taking
careful aim. One of them emptied his rifle and started to fade back to
reload, the other let him have it in the shoulder. It spun the guy
around and dumped him on his spine. His outflung hand slammed his rifle
against a tree, which broke it. He gave a painful moan and started to
crawl back, his arm hanging limp-like but not broken. From behind me
came a roar and a peltering of shotgun pellets through the trees; it was
answered by the heavy bark of the 35-70 Express. I'm sure that in the
entire artillery present, the only rifle heavy enough to really damage
those Mekstroms was that Express, which would stop a charging rhino.
When you get down to facts, my Bonanza .375 packed a terrific wallop but
it did not have the shocking power of the heavy big-game rifle.

Motion caught my perception to one side; two of them had let go shotgun
blasts from single-shot guns. They were standing face to face swinging
their guns like a pair of axemen; swing, chop! swing, chop! and with
each swing their guns were losing shape, splinters from the butts, and
bits of machinery. Their clothing was in ribbons from the shotgun
blasts. But neither of them seemed willing to give up. There was not a
sign of blood; only a few places on each belly that looked shiny-like.
On the other side of me, one guy let go with a rifle that slugged the
other bird in the middle. He folded over the shot and his middle went
back and down, which whipped his head over, back, and down where it hit
the ground with an audible thump. The first guy leaped forward just as
the victim of his attack sat up, rubbed his belly ruefully, and drew a
hunting knife with his other hand. The first guy took a running dive at
the supine one, who swung the hunting knife in a vicious arc. The point
hit the chest of the man coming through the air but it stopped as though
the man had been wearing plate armor. You could dig the return shock
that stunned the knife-wielder's arm when the point turned. All it did
was rip the clothing. Then the pair of them were at it in a free-for-all
that made the woods ring. This deadly combat did not last long. One of
them took aim with a fist and let the other have it. The rifle shot
hadn't stopped him bu