This is one of the book's greatest questions, but we think Bell answers it for us as the book goes on. The work is definitely more dangerous than it used to be, and we can't predict how dangerous it will become by the time we are old.

By the second chapter, we're seeing a turning point. Sheriff Bell talks about the unpredictability of criminals, and we've already seen that in action. Maybe things aren't going to work out as well as we thought.