"The revolver ought to be loaded, Dora. Do you know what caliber it is?"
"No; you know I know little or nothing about firearms."
"Then I'll find out for you, and get some cartridges. If Josiah
Crabtree is around you ought to shoot him on the spot."
"Oh, I couldn't do that—even though I do know how dreadfully he treated you while you were in the heart of Africa."
"You must be very careful of your movements, especially after dark. Crabtree may be around, with some new scheme against you or your mother. I wish he could have been left behind in Africa."
"Oh, so do I! but he and Dan Baxter both came back to America, didn't they?"
"So we heard in Boma. But don't get worked up too much, Dora, for it might have been only a cat,—or a common tramp looking for something to eat. We have had lots of tramps around the Hall lately."
"I have asked Grace Laning to pay us a visit, and she is coming over to-morrow."
"Then you will have somebody in the house besides your mother and yourself. I wish I could stay with you folks."
"How long are you going to remain at the Hall, Dick? When you came back you said something about going out West with your father to look up that mining claim in Colorado."