3. British forces hang a farmer named Bainbridge because they find what hidden on his property?
(a) The "sweet" rifle that McManus built
(b) Cannon powder and lead
(c) American coinage
(d) A psychiatric evaluation

4. How does John Byam die?
(a) He is hung by the Americans for desertion
(b) He shoots himself by accident while cleaning his rifle
(c) He dies of dysentery
(d) He is shot by the British during a skirmish

5. How much money does Tim Harrow have hidden in his mobile home?
(a) Only a few dollars
(b) None
(c) About twenty thousand dollars in cash and gold
(d) Over one million dollars in cash and gold

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the novel, how much would the "sweet" rifle be worth if its provenance were known and proved?

2. How much does John Byam pay Cornish McManus in exchange for the "sweet" rifle?

3. Where does the "sweet" rifle remain from c. 1776 until 1993?

4. How much force does it take on the trigger to fire that "sweet" rifle that Cornish McManus builds?

5. What type of grease does Cornish McManus use to lubricate his patches?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does John Byam kill the first British officer that he kills?

2. What aspect of Cornish McManus's personality, that John Waynewright dislikes, allows him to build a "sweet" rifle?

3. The novel spends many pages describing the construction of the rifle. Do you have a clear mental image of the processes involved in hand-making a muzzle-loading rifle?

4. In order to fire properly, the following things must be true: "the powder is dry and in good shape" (p. 16); "the flint is clean and with a new sharp edge" (p. 16); "the frizzen is wiped dry" (p. 16); "the spring on the hammer is strong" (p. 16); "the flint [slams] hard against the frizzen" (p. 16); "the powder is positioned correctly in the pan" (p. 17). Explain how all of these things happen to occur on Christmas Eve, 1993.

5. In reading the novel, do you think of the "sweet" Rifle as a character or as an object?

6. Cornish McManus is astounded when his "sweet" rifle puts three balls into one ragged hole at thirty paces (about 75 feet) while shooting from a solid rest. By today's accuracy standards is McManus' rifle's performance astounding?

7. Is the "sweet" rifle evil?

8. In reviewing John Byam's actions in the novel, would you consider him a hero?

9. Describe the initial organization of McRary's Rangers.

10. Do you think that John Waynewright would have valued Cornish McManus's "sweet" rifle?

(see the answer keys)

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