No, I'm just basking in the afterglow of a Donald Hamilton novella published as a serial in Collier's in Dec. 1953-Jan. 54, called "Smoky Valley," which can be downloaded in four parts (pdf) for free here. I hope I'm not causing any trouble for Mr. Martinez by publicizing the fact in my small way here.
The moral may be found in this passage, which I don't think is too much of a spoiler:
He had destroyed a way of life, and he would have to build another in its place. He had no enthusiasm for the task, but he knew that it was his. A man could not meddle with human lives without taking responsibility for the result.
People online like to use "[snip]" to indicate what I'm doing here.
He said, "I know no gentle way of fighting, Miss Wilkison. I tried to make that clear at the start, but no one would lesten. I couldn't risk my men's lives by being choosy in my methods, or in the people I asked for help....
Whoops! A bit too much of a spoiler right here. Back to the moral.
"For the most part, Miss Wilkison," he said, "those are decent people who want no more than to be let alone. I'll have no trouble with them, or they with me, Miss Wilkison."
There's never been a clearer expression of The Cowboy Way.
Donald Hamilton taught me to speak "English, not gobbledygook." If I can convert one person into a fellow fan of his, I would feel that I have repaid him a debt I feel deeply. For instance, it would make me very happy if someone could tell me where that "gobbledygook" quote is from. And, yes, I doubt if Hamilton ever ended a sentence with a preposition. Somebody else taught me that. "The best writers of the English language have been ending sentences with prepositions since time immemorial." I quote that from memory, so it may be a little off. Too bad I don't remember who said that.
