Certain persons had designs upon my life; that was enough for me.

On the whole, the thought was stimulating; it set a new value on existence, and it roused a certain amount of spirit even in me.
I would give the fellows another chance before I left town.

They should follow me once more, and this time to some purpose.

Last night they had left a knife on me; to-night I would have a keepsake ready for them.
Hitherto I had gone unarmed since my landing, which, perhaps, was no more than my duty as a civilized citizen.

On Black Hill Flats, however, I had formed another habit, of which I should never have broken myself so easily, but for the fact that all the firearms I ever had were reddening and rotting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.