ATDTDA (11) Sharp Hearing Is Not What I Asked For [296:18-19]

[Keith]

[296:18-19] "you might be mindful of the Sharps rifle he packs"

Something shifted during the disorienting photo shoot. Bob's last  
words to Frank are a request for him to watch his back because "this  
is making me begin to itch somewhat fierce." [292:35-38] The hair- 
trigger is about to go. Instead of watching his back, Frank squats  
behind the bar and listens. [293:17-19] Then, everything becomes  
uncertain. Impersonally, Meldrum's loose finger has been triggered  
and is a danger to everyone. Personally, perhaps he is pissed that  
Frank didn't provide more assistance back at the saloon.

Here's a close look at a vintage Sharps rifle:
http://collectorebooks.com/gregg01/usantique/Lot-125.htm

And from Wiki:

The military Sharps rifle (also known as the Berdan Sharps rifle) was  
a falling block rifle used during and after the American Civil War.  
Along with being able to use a standard percussion cap, the Sharps  
had a fairly unusual pellet primer feed. This was a device which held  
a stack of pelleted primers that flipped one over the nipple every  
time the trigger was pulled and the hammer fell. This was much easier  
to operate from horseback than individual percussion caps.

The Sharps Rifle was used in the Civil War by the U.S. Army  
sharpshooters known popularly as "Berdan's Sharpshooters" in honor of  
their leader Hiram Berdan. The Sharps made a superior sniper weapon  
of higher accuracy than the more commonly issued muzzle-loading  
rifled-muskets. This was due mainly to the higher rate of fire of the  
breech loading mechanism and the fact that the quality of manufacture  
was superior. It was produced by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing  
Company in Hartford, CT.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharps_rifle


On Jun 13, 2007, at 5:04 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:

Why must Frank worry, impersonally, about Bob Meldrum and his rifle?  
Related to
the above?