A cold, mocking smile replaced the malevolence on his face when, after reaching an erect position, he saw that the weapon in the young woman's hand had drooped until its muzzle was directed toward the floor at his feet.

A forty-five caliber revolver, loaded, weighs about forty ounces, and this one looked so unwieldy and cumbersome, so entirely harmless in the young woman's slender hand, that her threat seemed absurd, even farcical.

An ironical humor over the picture she made standing there moved Calumet.
"I reckon you ought to use two hands if you want to hold that gun proper, ma'am," he said.
The muzzle of the weapon wavered uncertainly; the young woman gasped.
Apparently the lack of fear exhibited by the intruder shocked her.

But she did not follow Calumet's suggestion, she merely stood and watched him warily, as the man whom he had attacked struggled dizzily to his feet, staggered weakly to a chair and half fell, half slipped into it, swaying oddly back and forth, gasping for breath, a grotesque figure.
The demon in Calumet slumbered--this situation was to his liking.

He stepped back a pace, and when the young woman saw that he meditated no further mischief she lowered the pistol to her side.