The Boss's comment about carrying a gun stuck in my head later when I saw a shootout in town. One cowboy emptied his gun at another cowboy without even comin close. His opponent killed him with his second shot. I made up my mind to practice with my new six-gun on the way back to Texas and bought a pile of ammo for that purpose. The Boss didn't rush back to Waco, but neither did he lollygag either. He sold most of the horses, along with the cattle, keeping only the best to use for the next trip and an old lead steer we called Brindle. Brindle had made every trip to Abilene with The Boss and knew the way better than we did. We would stop evenings early enough for the horses to get filled up on grass. I took advantage of the evenings by practicing drawing and firing my pistol at least an hour. During the day, I carried the gun in my hand, aiming and dry firing at cactus or other objects. I took a lot of ribbin from the crew, but the speed and accuracy that I attained gained their respect.