"An Argument"

Please permit me to plagiarize my own work. Specifically, The Devil's Dictionary:

Advice, n. The smallest current coin.

This is, in a nutshell, the reason why Clara is no longer traveling with us. She gave her advice and was quite hostile when I told her it was not needed.

This is how it began: I was instructing Blair in how to aim and fire the Mauser. I was telling him about the kick, about how to reload the rifle quickly. We couldn't do any actual practice, since our bullets were limited, but I was still showing him how to do it all.

"The way you described this Hanging Man," Clara intruded, "it doesn't seem like shooting him will do much good. You said he was too fast."

"We can still try," I said.

She shrugged and then took a knife from her pack. "I think this might a better weapon for Blair to learn," she said.

I must admit, that made me a little angry. Of all the weapons, she disparages the Mauser and instead picks an ordinary knife.

I'm afraid I said some words that I now regret. I do not wish to record them here, but needless to say they were not kind. In fairness, Clara did respond to these words with words of her own (some of which I did not understand).

This argument led to Clara packing her bags and leaving. As Blair said, perhaps we were not meant for three. He is sleeping at the moment, so I am left alone to contemplate what our future may hold. And, if I'm permitted to plagiarize once more:

Alone, adj. In bad company.