True Grit

He said, “Be right still.” I looked around for Lee and figured he must have gone to bed. Rooster said, “I will try this the new way. Now watch.” He leaned forward and spoke at the rat in a low voice, saying, “I have a writ here that says for you to stop eating Chen Lee’s corn meal forthwith. It is a rat writ. It is a writ for a rat and this is lawful service of said writ.” Then he looked over at me and said, “Has he stopped?” I gave no reply. I have never wasted any time encouraging drunkards or show-offs. He said, “It don’t look like to me he has stopped.” He was holding Papa’s revolver down at his left side and he fired twice without aiming. The noise filled up that little room and made the curtains jump. My ears rang. There was a good deal of smoke.
Lee sat up in his bunk and said, “Outside is place for shooting.”

I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life

a cotton house made over into a little cabin. It had a good roof.

but you can never think of everything.

The watchman Toby was true to his word and he woke me in the chill darkness before dawn.

Then you should do a good job. Do you have any business in the office tonight?”

He took me inside the barn and told the watchman it would be all right for me to stay the night on the office bunk.

The important thing was not to lose sight of my object and that was to get Tom Chaney.

Well, what are you going to do? You cannot carry water on both shoulders.”

Why don’t you think about yourself? Do you think she is concerned with your interest? She is using you. You have got to be firm