“Would I fool with them if they were big? They can’t hurt you. They’re only about so long. I’ve got them in a cage.”

They were in the barn now and Slim saw the large cage suspended from a hook in the roof. It was covered with stiff canvas.

Red said, “We used to have some bird there or something. Anyway, they can’t get away from there. Come on, let’s go up to the loft.”

They clambered up the wooden stairs and Red hooked the cage toward them.

Slim pointed and said, “There’s sort of a hole in the canvas.”

Red frowned. “How’d that get there?” He lifted the canvas, looked in, and said, with relief, “They’re still there.”

“The canvas appeared to be burned,” worried Slim.