"Anything! Just ask me!"
"You'll do exactly as I say?"
"Try it! What do you want done?"
Jeff grinned. "Right now let's go peddling—and leave the shotgun here."
"But—"
"You said you'd do anything."
"Let's go, Jeff."
With an ease born of long experience, Jeff slipped into the pack. Knowing that they were going out, Pal leaped to his feet and a doggy grin framed his jaws. Jeff closed the door but did not lock it. The cabin had been rifled only because it was thought abandoned. Known to be occupied, it was safe. The hill men might use force to get what they wanted, or even kill another man for it, but petty pilfering was beneath them.
The sun was warm without being too warm, and a breeze fanned the cheeks of the pair of peddlers. The smile was complete on Jeff's face, and laughter was in his heart. The horizon stretched limitlessly, with no end or definition, and good fortune was a certainty. He couldn't be other than happy.
"Where we going, Jeff?" Dan asked.