"But if you caught him, you and he would be alone."
"Yes," said Jim, whose face got hard, "that's what I want. If I'm on the right track, the thing must be fixed without the boys knowing."
Carrie hesitated and then made a sign of acquiescence. "I don't like it, Jim, but reckon you can't be moved. Anyhow, you'll be cautious."
Jim promised he would not be rash and went off, half amused, to get some water. Carrie was very staunch, but he did not want her to be disturbed about him. He was sorry she had heard him steal out of camp.
In the evening Jake came for a gun he kept in the tent. The game laws that limit the time for shooting are seldom enforced against bush ranchers and prospectors who kill deer and grouse for food.
"I'd better oil the barrels to keep off the damp," he said. "It's a pretty good gun."
Carrie watched him push across the top lever and open the breech.
"Is that where you put the cartridges?" she asked.
"You push the shells forward with your thumb, and then shut the gun—like this!"
"Then all you have to do is to pull the trigger?"