"They'll come in handy to steer off that other crowd."
"I wouldn't be bothered with keeping the rifles about camp," Tom retorted, as they started backward.
"But say! Gage's man that went to Dugout will soon be back.
Do you forget that he carries a rifle?"
"Jim Ferrers will be back at about the same time," Tom rejoined. "They'll have rifles until the camp will look like an outdoor arsenal. We don't want these added rifles around camp. Besides, if we kept 'em we'd soon begin to feel like thieves with other folks' property."
"What are you going to do with these guns, then?"
"By tomorrow," Reade proposed, "I rather expect to put these guns out where Gage's crew can find them again."
"Well, you're full of faith in human nature, then!" gasped Harry.
"Wait and see what happens," begged Tom.
When they stepped back into camp Tom threw the magazine of one of the rifles open, extracting the cartridges. Then he stepped over and carefully deposited the rifle across the middle of the fire.
"I might have known!" cried Hazelton.