A fine, drizzling rain was falling, and Sally, tired from her hard work of the day before and the long duels with the horses of the posse, went even more down-heartedly moody than usual, shuffling wearily, but recovering herself with her usual catlike adroitness whenever her footing failed on the steep downslope.
"Way of the Lawless"
Max Brand
He was downslope, and so Drew was able to bridge the distance between them very quickly - he was almost upon Felix when a third stone, bigger and faster than the others, took him in the back of the head with terrible speed, making a sound like a hammer missing the nail and hitting solid wood instead.
"Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town"
Cory Doctorow