The Old Man

by Thomas Perry

“I like big dogs,” he said. “They’re calmer and quieter. It’s scared dogs that bite.” “I don’t know,” she said. “You really want to have two animals that could kill you? You’re—” “An old man. A stiff breeze could kill me.”

At one time he would have said it was a shame for a shooter to die for something that had so little to do with him. Now he knew that the reason didn’t matter very much. Everybody died for nothing.