"Is that what you bait turtle hooks with?" asked Ruth.
"Ground squirrels make the best kind of bait," said her uncle. "If there are turtles in the pond, you'll get one of them with that."
"Let me shoot the squirrel myself, Uncle Joe," said Ruth.
"I won't have time to go hunting squirrels this afternoon, but perhaps you and Bob might be able to find one on the fence down back of the barn. You can take my shotgun, Ruth, but be careful that you don't shoot yourself instead of the squirrel."
"Oh, I know how to shoot, Uncle Joe; don't worry," she declared.
"Let's go as soon as we get our dinner, Bob," she said enthusiastically.
When they had finished, Bob got two turtle lines and hooks from the woodshed and the double-barrel gun and four shells. They went down along the fence back of the barn toward the pond. When they were almost at the foot of the hill, near a chestnut tree, they saw a ground squirrel sitting on the top of a fence post.
Bob handed the gun to Ruth and explained to her how to operate it, and much to his surprise and admiration, she quickly raised the gun to her shoulder and fired-the squirrel tumbling off the fence.
"How did you happen to do that?" he asked, lost in admiration, for it was a neat shot.
"Throw your hat up in the air and I'll show you," she said.