“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Blackwell. That’s grand!” cried Jo Ann.
“I’ll see that Jo Ann doesn’t do anything rash,” put in Peggy.
Florence smiled over at Jo Ann. “Maybe you won’t be so enthusiastic by the time that bear hugs you. I’m glad I’m going to stay here with Mother.”
Jo Ann merely smiled back at Florence and caught Peggy by the arm. “Come on, let’s go in and get our things ready for the hunt.”
The two girls went on into the house, and Jo Ann quickly opened her bag and took out several garments and handed them to Peggy. “We’ll need these knickers. We can’t be bothered with skirts flapping about our legs tonight,” she said.
“No, we surely can’t. They’d be a terrible nuisance.”
“Get the flashlight, and I’ll get the gun. This is a peach of a gun,” Jo Ann added a moment later, running her hand lovingly over the polished surface of the stock. “I wish it were mine.”
“Why? Is it different from any other gun?” Peggy asked.
“Different! I should say it is. It’s two guns in one, a double-barrel shotgun and a 30-30 rifle. This little barrel underneath is the rifle barrel.” She opened a box and held it out to Peggy. “See what vicious-looking cartridges you shoot in it. They’ll blow a hole clear through that bear.”
Peggy’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “I’ve never seen a gun like that before.”