I don’t think Colonel Sherburn is a coward as he accuses the mob to be. He killed a man alright, but he has warned Boggs beforehand to stop his annoying behavior, and he didn’t. He killed the man in brought daylight, when everyone could see him, and did it alone. This is proof of a brave man, he says, he does what he does all by himself, without asking for permission or forgiveness. On the other hand, the mob procures its braveness from the gathering of people, “they don’t fight with courage that’s born in them, but with courage that’s borrowed from their mass”. At least, Colonel Sherburn is coherent with his own definition of braveness.
I think this passage contributes with the general theme of the book, of man’s inhumanity to man, by showing how the law of the strongest works. The strong will always crush the weak, he/she doesn’t care while he/she lives the way he/she wants.
