“Ned,” spoke Mr. Miller, the next noon, “supposing we let you have a gun, will you promise to do exactly as we say?”
“Yes, sir,” agreed Ned, promptly.
“And you’ll be careful?” implored his mother, anxiously gazing at him.
“Of course,” assured Ned.
He half-way expected that his father would take him straight down town and buy a gun; but he was disappointed. There were farther preliminaries.
“All right,” said his father. “But before you get the gun, I want to be sure that you know how to handle it. I don’t want you shooting yourself, or shooting anybody else, which would be about as bad. So I’ve arranged with Mr. Russell to take you out and show you a few things.”
Mr. Russell lived across the street. He was a great hunter, and had all manner of shooting stuff. He was known as a very steady, prudent man, and Mr. and Mrs. Miller felt that they could safely trust Ned to him.
As for Ned, his disappointment was not keen, after all. Going out with Mr. Russell, whom he regarded as the finest hunter in town, was next best thing to having a gun, oneself.
“Say——” he began, his face aglow.
“Ned!” rebuked his mother.