Apparently he did not mean to shoot.

Sneers reached the faces of several men in the crowd.

The shooter growled, "Fourflush." There was a flash as the can rose twenty feet in the air, propelled by the right hand of the stranger.

As the can reached the apex of its climb the stranger's right hand descended and grasped the butt of the weapon at his right hip.

There was a flash as the gun came out; a gasp of astonishment from the watchers.