Shading his keen eyes with his hand, Stacy stood in the doorway and handed Demorest the two rifles.

Demorest hesitated.

"Hadn't YOU better keep one ?" he said, looking in his partner's eyes with his first challenge of curiosity.

The sun seemed to put a humorous twinkle into Stacy's glance as he returned, "Not much! And you'd better take my revolver with you, too.

I'm feeling a little better now," he said, looking at the saddlebags, "but I'm not fit to be trusted yet with carnal weapons.