The sun was high in the sky, just past the zenith, when the trio came down the side of a small cliff and out through a little pass onto an open space of ground.
Emmett pulled up his horse and dismounted. "Well, boys," he said. "Let's get off here for a while." The other two dismounted and handed their animals over to the guide.
"Looks like a fairly good spot," said Thurman. Emmett tethered the horses quickly and then began unpacking some of the equipment. He put up the collapsible chairs in the cooling shade of a single tree that stood near the center of the little clearing. Then he placed some of the boxes containing food around the chairs and handed the two hunters their guns.
"If you boys will make yourselves comfortable, I'll go out and scout around for something to shoot at," he told them.
Karsten settled down into one of the chairs with an audible sigh of relief. Thurman gave his gun a casual inspection. "All right," he said to the guide. "Go ahead. And see if you can find something worth while."
Emmett tucked his rifle under his arm and headed off into the dense underbrush.
"Have something to eat," Karsten said, passing an open box to his companion.
Thurman helped himself to the food, then leaned back in his chair. "I don't mind saying that I hope Emmett will come up with a good-sized one right off," he said.
"You know what I'd like?" Karsten said through a mouthful of food. "I wish he'd find me a real red-head. That's all I really need to give my collection balance." He waved a chicken leg at Thurman. "If it were a good-sized head, I'd hang it right in the center over the mantelpiece. I could surround it with heads that have dark hair and make quite an attractive pattern. My wife goes in for color schemes, you know."
Tom Thurman sighed. The day was dry and he could feel the drowsy heat of the sun even in the pleasant shade of the large tree. He began to fan himself with his hand. "I understand the latest fad is to have the whole body stuffed and mounted on a plaque before you hang it up on the wall," he said. He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I'm just old fashioned," he continued, "but it seems to me that they would take up an awful lot of room if you did that."