Answer: D. Remove the descriptive details about Cowboy Mills and his pistol; it would help focus on the events that come next, not the tension that builds to them.
Explanation:
The main event of this excerpt is the conflict between the sheriff and Mills. Certain other pieces of information can therefore be removed to speed up the story so that the conflict is reached sooner.
One such piece of information is the flicking of the safety of his pistol by Mills. While this piece of information is important to build tension, it can be discarded as it is not the main conflict.
