Heavily armed strangers on the frontier could still prove genial companions

Evidence

What was unusual was the number of weapons he carried. Besides a rifle laid across his saddle and a pair of pistols in the holsters, he carried two revolvers and a knife in his belts, and a carbine slung behind him. I found him what is termed “good company.” — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 192

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: The gap between five weapons and ‘good company’ is a whole tension engine: a traveler must read intent from manners, not armament.