“Just a minute,” Mike muttered. “There,” he said at last. “Where are the shells?”
“In a flap pocket on the side.”
“I see them.”
Mike opened the box and fed the shells into the chamber. “Here,” he said. “Fire away. The safety’s on.”
Sandy took the gun, flipped the safety switch and jabbed the barrel out of the cave. He fired twice. The booming shots echoed hollowly as they rumbled over the mountains.
“Hear any answer?” Mike asked.
“Give him a chance.”
A moment later they heard a pair of muffled explosions. Mike grinned over at Sandy. “That’s Hank, all right. Let’s try it again.”
“Okay.” Sandy blasted two more holes in the sky and sat back to wait. This time Hank answered almost immediately.
“I wonder where he is?” Mike muttered.