@@@@@It didn't slow down; to the contrary, those 213
@@@@@It didn't slow
down; to the contrary, those stubby legs seemed to
speed up as it ran off the last thirty feet or so
I could hear the grass whickering harshly along
its plated sides
The barrel of the gun rose with the recoilI've never seen calm like that,
and it still amazes meWhen the gun came back to
dead level, the alligator was no more than fifteen
feet awayHe fired again, and the second bullet
lifted the thing's front half to the sky,
revealing a greenish-white bellyFor a moment it
seemed to be dancing on its tail, like a happy
gator in a Disney cartoon
"Yahh, you ugly bastard!" Jack screamed"Fuck ya
mutha! Fuck ya GRANDmutha!"
The gun again rose with the recoilOnce again,
Wireman let itThe alligator thumped down on its
side, belly exposed, the stubs of its legs
thrashing, its tail whipping and tearing up grass
and earth in clotsWhen the muzzle came back
level, Wireman pulled the trigger again, and the
center of the thing's belly seemed to disintegrate
965
All at once the ragged, flattened circle in which
it lay was mostly red instead of green
I looked for the heron
Wireman got up, and I saw he was shakingHe
walked toward the alligator - although not quite
within the radius of the still-whipping tail - and
pumped two more rounds into itThe tail gave a
final convulsive whack against the ground, the
body a final jerk, and then it was still
He turned to Jack and held up the automatic in a
shaking hand"One
big old handgun, made by badass Hebrews - James
McMurtry, two thousand-sixMostly what added the
weight to the basket was the ammoI tossed in all
the clips I hadThat was about a dozen
Jack walked over to him, embraced him, then kissed
him on both cheeks"I'll carry that basket to
Cleveland if you want, and never say a word
"At least you won't have to carry the gun,"
Wireman
