by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VIII
PISTOL PRACTICE
"You are a rum fellow, Wyatt," one of the captains of the depot of hisregiment said to Frank a fortnight after he joined.
"How am I rum?"
"Why, about that Russian fellow. I never heard of a young cornetsetting-to to work like a nigger, when there is no occasion in the worldfor him to do so."
"There is no absolute occasion perhaps, but you see Russian may be veryuseful some day."
"Well, yes, and so might any other out-of-the-way language."
"It is an off-chance, no doubt; still it is better to be doing somethingthat may turn out useful than to be walking up and down the High Streetor playing billiards. I don't spend much time over it now, for there isa good deal to do in learning one's work, but when I once get out of thehands of the drill-sergeant and the riding-master I shall have a lot oftime to myself, and shall be very glad to occupy some of it in gettingup Russian."
"Of course it is your own business and not mine, Wyatt; but I am afraidyou won't find things very pleasant if you take a line of your own anddon't go with the rest."
"I have no wish not to go with the rest," Frank protested. "When thereis anything to be done, whether it is hunting or any sort of sport, Ishall certainly take my share in it; but don't you think yourself,Captain Lister, that it is much better for a fellow to spend part of histime reasonably than in lounging about, or in playing billiards orcards?"
"I don't say that it isn't better, Wyatt, but that is hardly thequestion. Many things may be better than others, but if a fellow doesn'tgo with the run he gets himself disliked, and has a very hard time ofit."
"I used to hear a good deal of the same thing when I was at school,"Frank said quietly, "but I don't think I was disliked for sticking towork sometimes, when other fellows were playing. Surely when one is frommorning till night with other men, it can matter to no one but himselfif he gives two or three hours a day to work."
"It does not matter to anyone, Wyatt. I am quite willing to grant it,but for all that, I am afraid, if you stick to it, you will have to putup with a great deal of chaff, and not always of a good-natured kind."
"I can put up with any amount of chaff," Frank replied; "I mean chaff inits proper sense. Anything that goes beyond that, I shall, I hope, beable to meet as it deserves. Perhaps it would be better if I were totake half an hour a day off my Russian studies and to spend that time inthe pistol-gallery."
Captain Lister looked at him earnestly. "I think you will do,youngster," he said approvingly, "that is the right spirit. There is alot of rough fun and larking in a regiment, and the man that goesthrough it best, is he who can take a joke good-temperedly as long as itdoes not go beyond the bounds of moderation, but who is ready to resentany wilful insult: but I think you would be very wise to do as you say.Half an hour in a pistol-gallery every day is likely to be of vastlymore use to you than any amount of Russian. The reputation that a man isa crack shot with a pistol will do more than anything in the world tokeep him out of quarrels. Here at the depot at any rate, where thefellows are for the most part young, it would certainly save you a gooddeal of annoyance if it were known that, although not by any means aquarrelsome fellow, you were determined to put up with nothing beyondgood-humoured jokes. Well, lad, I don't want to interfere with yourhobby, only I advise you not to ride it too hard, at any rate at first.When the men all know you and get to like you, and see that, apart fromthis fancy of yours, you are an all-round good fellow, as I can see youare, they will let you go your own way. At any rate, as captain of yourtroop, I will do all I can to make things pleasant for you, but don'tforget about the pistol practice. At a depot like this, where there arehalf a dozen regiments represented, you will meet with a largerproportion of disagreeable men than you would in your own ante-room. Yousee, if colonels have such men, they are glad enough to rid the regimentof them by leaving them at the depot, and any serious trouble is morelikely to come from one of them than from anyone in your own regiment."
"I will take your advice, certainly," Frank said; "the more so that thetime spent in learning to be a good shot with a pistol will be mostuseful in a campaign, even if there is no occasion ever to put it to thetest when at home."
"There is a gunsmith in St. Margaret's Street. It is a small shop, butthe man, Woodall is his name, has got a long shed that he uses as apistol-gallery, a quarter of a mile out beyond the gate. He is anadmirable shot himself as well as an excellent workman, and you can't dobetter than go to him. Tell him that you want to become a good shot withthe pistol, and are willing to pay for lessons. If he takes you in handit won't be long before he turns you out as a fair shot, whether youever get beyond that depends on nerve and eye, and I should think thatyou have no lack of either."
"I hope not," Frank said, with a smile. "At any rate I will see him thisafternoon."
"Put on your cap at once, and I will go down with you," Captain Listersaid; "and mind, I think if I were you I should say nothing about it atthe depot until he tells you that he has done with you. Knowing thatthe man is a learner might have just the opposite effect of hearing thathe is a crack shot."
In a quarter of an hour they arrived at the gunsmith's. "Woodall,"Captain Lister said, "my friend, Mr. Wyatt, who has lately joined, has afancy for becoming a first-rate pistol shot."
"He couldn't have a more useful fancy, Captain Lister. My idea is, thatevery cavalry-man--trooper as well as officer--should be a dead shotwith a pistol. The sword is all very well, and I don't say it is not auseful weapon, but a regiment that could shoot--really shoot well--wouldbe a match for any three French regiments, though they were Boney'sbest."'
"He wants you take him in hand yourself, Woodall, if you can spare thetime to do so; of course, he is ready to pay you for your time andtrouble, and would meet you at any hour you like to name in theafternoon at your shed."
"All right, sir. It is a rum thing to me that, while every officer isready to take any pains to learn the sword exercise, they seem to thinkthat pistol-shooting comes by nature, and that, even on horseback, inthe middle of the confusion of a charge, you have only got to point yourpistol and bring down your man. The thing is downright ridiculous! Itwill be a pleasure to teach you, Mr. Wyatt. I should say, from yourlook, you are likely to turn out a first-rate shot."
"It won't be for want of trying if I don't," Frank replied.
"If you will take my advice, sir, you will learn to shoot with bothhands. For a civilian who never wants to use a pistol except in a duel,the right hand is all that is necessary, but for a cavalry-man, the leftis the useful hand. You see an officer always carries his sword in hisright hand, and if he has got to shift it to his left before he can usehis pistol, he could never use it at all, if hard pressed in a fight.Another thing is, that the left side is the weak side of a horseman.His sword is all right in defending him if attacked on the right, but ifhe is attacked on the left he is fighting under a big disadvantage. Hehas much more difficulty in guarding himself on that side, and he hasnothing like the same reach for striking as he has on the other."
"That is quite true, now I come to think of it," Frank said; "though Inever gave it a thought before. Yes, I see that the left hand is themost useful one, and I will practice with that as well as with theother. Well, what hour will suit you?"
"It don't make much difference to me, sir; the evenings are gettinglonger; you can see well enough until five."
"Well, then, shall we say half-past four?"
"Half-past four will suit very well, Mr. Wyatt. It is four o'clock now,so if you like to take your first lesson to-day I will meet you at theshed in half an hour. You cannot miss the place, it is on the right sideof the road and stands by itself, and there is my name over the door."
"Thank you; I will be there," Frank replied.
"I may as well come with you, Wyatt," Captain Lister said. "I will firea few shots myself, for I have had no practice for the last two years,and I have a fancy to see what I can do with my left hand. I have nevertr
ied with it, and I quite agree with Woodall that it is the left handthat a cavalry-man should use."
Frank was a good deal surprised at first to see how much more difficultit was to hit a mark, even at the distance of twelve paces, than heimagined that it would be. Woodall would not allow him to take aim.
"You will never get a chance to do that, Mr. Wyatt, in a fight; you havegot to whip out your pistol, to throw up your arm and fire. It has gotto be done by instinct rather than by aim. It is all very well to aimwhen you are on your feet and standing perfectly steady, but on a horsehalf-mad with excitement, and perhaps going at a gallop, you could nomore hold your arm steady on a mark than you could fly. Put down thepistol for a time. Now you know, sir, when you point at a thing withyour first finger extended, however quickly you do it, you will be thereor thereabout, and it is the same thing if you have got a pistol in yourhand. You see that black patch on the wall to the right of the target.Now turn your back to it. Now, when I give the word, turn on your heels,and the moment your eye catches that patch throw up your arm with yourforefinger extended and point to it. When you get it up there, hold itas steady as you can. Now, sir!"
Frank did as he was ordered.
"Now, sir, look along your arm. You see you are pointing very nearly atthe centre of the patch. You are just a little high. Now try it withyour left. There, you see, you are not quite so accurate this time--youare six inches to the left of the patch, and nearly a foot high.Remember that it's always better to aim a little low than a little high,for the tendency of the hand in the act of pulling the trigger is toraise the muzzle. Now, sir, try that half a dozen times, using the handsalternately. Very good! Now take this empty pistol--no, don't hold itlike that! Not one man in twenty, ay, not one in a hundred, holds apistol right, they always want to get the first finger on the trigger.Now, you want the first finger to point with, the second finger is quiteas good to pull with, in fact better, for going straight, as it does,with the arm, there is less tendency to throw up the muzzle. Now take itlike this; you see my forefinger lies along in the line of the barrel,that is the really important point. Get into the way of always graspingyour pistol so that the first finger is in an exact line with thebarrel, then, you see, just as your finger naturally follows your eyeand points at the spot, so your pistol must be in the same line. It isbest to have the middle and third fingers both on the trigger, and thelittle finger and thumb alone grasping the butt.
"You will find that a little difficult at first, but you will soon getaccustomed to it, and your little finger will rapidly gain strength,and, you see, the hold of your first finger along the barrel helps theother two to steady it. By having the middle and third fingers both onthe trigger, you give a pressure rather than a pull to it, and they willsoon come to give that pressure at the very moment when the first fingergets on the mark aimed at. Now try it half a dozen times with the pistolunloaded, and after pressing the trigger keep your hand and arm in asnearly the same position, so as to see if it is pointing truly at themark. Very good! Now try with the left hand. There, you see, that handis not so accustomed to its work, and though you might have hit thetarget, I doubt if either of the shots would have struck the innercircle. Now we will try with the pistol loaded."
Six shots were fired alternately with the right and left hand. Those ofthe former were all within a few inches of the bull's-eye, while none ofthe others went wide of the outside.
"Very good, indeed," the gunsmith said. "I don't hesitate to say that ina very short time you will become a fair shot, and at the end of threemonths, if you practise regularly, a first-class one. Your hand is verysteady, your eye true, and you have plenty of nerve. Now, sir, I shouldadvise you to keep that unloaded pistol in the drawer of your table, andwhenever you have nothing else to do, spend five minutes in taking quickaims at marks on the wall, using your hands alternately. Now, CaptainLister, will you try a few shots?"
Taking a steady aim, Captain Lister put his bullets almost every timeinto the bull's-eye, but, to Frank's surprise, when he came to tryquick firing in the way he had himself done, the captain's shooting wasmuch less accurate than his own.
"It is a question of eye," the gunsmith said next day, when Frank wasalone with him. "You see Captain Lister's shooting was fair when he tooka steady aim, but directly he came to fire as he would in action, andthat without the disturbing influences of excitement and of the motionof his horse, he was nowhere. He did not even once hit the target infiring with his left hand. He would certainly have missed his man andwould have got cut down a moment later, and even with his right hand hisshooting was very wild."
Captain Lister himself was evidently disconcerted at finding how uselesshis target practice would be to him in the field, and, two or threetimes in the next week, went with Frank to practise. He improved withhis right hand, but did not seem to obtain any accuracy in firing withhis left, while Frank, at the end of a month, came to shoot as well withone hand as with the other.
Frank worked steadily at Russian, and although he found it extremelydifficult at first, soon began to make progress under his teacher, whotook the greatest pains with him. He soon got over the good-temperedchaff of the subalterns of his detachment, who, finding that he was atother times always ready to join in anything going on, and was whollyunruffled by their jokes, soon gave it up. They agreed among themselvesthat he was a queer fellow, and allowed him to go his own way withoutinterference. At the end of three months he was discharged from drilland riding school, and had thenceforth a great deal more time on hishands, and was able to devote three hours of a morning and two of anafternoon to Russian.
He was delighted with his master, whom he came to esteem highly, findinghim a most intelligent companion as well as an unwearied teacher.Strelinski, indeed, would have been glad to have devoted twelve hours aday instead of five, could Frank have afforded the time. He was a verydifferent man now to what he was when he had first called at Sir RobertWilson's lodgings. He looked well and happy; his cheeks had filled out,and he carried himself well; he dressed with scrupulous care, and whenFrank had no engagement with his comrades, the Pole accompanied him onlong rides on his spare charger, he having been accustomed to ridingfrom his childhood. From him Frank learned a great deal of the state ofthings in Poland and Russia, and gained a considerable insight intoEuropean politics, besides picking up a more intimate colloquialknowledge of Russian than he gained at his lessons. Of an evening Franknot unfrequently went to parties in the town. The gallant deeds of ourtroops in Spain had raised the military to great popularity throughoutthe country, and the houses of all the principal inhabitants ofCanterbury were hospitably opened to officers of the garrison.
Many of the young men preferred billiards and cards in the mess-room,but Frank, who declined to play billiards, and had not acquiredsufficient skill at cards to take a hand at whist, was very glad toaccept these invitations. He specially enjoyed going to the houses ofthe clergy in the precincts of the cathedral; most of them were verymusical, and Frank, who had never heard much music at Weymouth, enjoyedintensely the old English glees, madrigals, and catches performed with aperfection that at that time would have been hard to meet with except incathedral towns.
After three months the gunmaker no longer accompanied Frank to hisshooting-gallery.
"It would be robbing you to go on with you any longer, Mr. Wyatt. When aman can turn round, fire on the instant and hit a penny nine times outof ten at a distance of twelve paces, there is no one can teach himanything more. You have the best eye of any gentleman I ever cameacross, and in the twenty years that I have been here I have hadhundreds of officers at this gallery, many of them considered crackshots. But I should go on practising, if I were you, especially withyour left hand. It is not quite so good as the right yet, although verynearly so. I will come down once a week or so and throw up a ball to youor spin a penny in the air; there is nothing like getting to hit amoving object. In the meantime you can go on practising at that plummetswinging from the string. You can do that as well by y
ourself as if Iwere with you, for when you once set it going it will keep on for fiveminutes. It is not so good as throwing up a penny, because it makes aregular curve; but shooting, as you do, with your back to it, and so notable to tell where it will be when you turn round, that don't so muchmatter."
"What is the best shooting you ever heard of?"
"The best shot I ever heard tell of was Major Rathmines. He could hit apenny thrown up into the air nineteen times out of twenty."
"Well, I will go on practising until I can do that," Frank said. "If athing is worth doing it is worth doing well."
"And you will do it, Mr. Wyatt; there is nothing you could not do withpractice."
"There is one thing I wish you would do for me--that figure you have gotpainted as a target is ridiculous. I wish you would get some one who hasan idea of painting to do another figure. I want it painted, notstanding square to me, but sideways, as a man stands when he fights aduel. I want it drawn with the arm up, just in the same position that aman would stand in firing. I hope I shall never be called upon to fighta duel. I think it is a detestable practice; but unfortunately it is socommon that no one can calculate on keeping out of it--especially in thearmy."
"Well, sir, you need not be afraid of fighting a duel, for you fire somighty quick that you would be certain of getting in the first shot,and if you got first shot there would be an end of it."
"Yes, but that would be simple murder--neither more nor less, whateverpeople might call it--and I doubt whether, accustomed as I am to fireinstantly the moment I catch sight of a thing, that I could help hittinga man in the head. Now what I want to become accustomed to is to fire atthe hand. I should never forgive myself if I killed a man. But if ever Idid go out with a notorious duellist who forced the duel upon me, Ishould like to stop his shooting for the rest of his life. So I want tobe able to hit his hand to a certainty. Of course the hand is an easyenough mark, and by getting accustomed to the height and the exactposition it would be in, I should get to hit it without fail."
"A very good idea, sir. The hand is not much of a mark when holding apistol, still it is a good bit bigger than a penny piece, and you wouldsoon get to hit it just as certainly."
For the next three months Frank fired fifty shots a day--twenty-fivewith each hand--and at the end of that time could hit a penny thrown upby Woodall, eighteen times out of twenty.
"That is good enough," he said; "now I shall only practise once a week,to keep my hand in."
Frank had not been without an incentive to gain exceptional proficiencywith a pistol. Although he got on very well with his comrades of his owndepot, there was a captain of a lancer regiment who had not unfrequentlytaxed his patience to its farthest limit. The man was a noted duellist,and was known to be a dead shot. On the strength of this, he was in thehabit of making remarks so offensive, that they would have at once beentaken up, if uttered by anyone else in barracks. For the last two monthshe had made a special butt of a young cornet, who had recently joinedthe depot of the Dragoons. He was a pleasant lad, with plenty of spiritand pluck, but he had a slight impediment in his speech, although whengiving the word of command he never hesitated. It was this defect thatwas the object of Captain Marshall's ill-natured remarks. The lad triedto laugh them off and to ignore the offensiveness of the tone, but hefelt them deeply, and confided to Frank--to whom he had speciallytaken--that he could not stand it much longer.
"I never used a pistol in my life until you advised me the other day totake some lessons from Woodall, and of course he would put a bulletthrough my head; but I can't help that. As it is, everyone must think mea coward for standing it, and at any rate I can show them that I am notthat."
"Don't you mind, Wilmington," Frank said one day, "and don't make a foolof yourself. You put up with it a little longer, and something may occurto put a stop to it. He may go away on leave, or he may get a hint thathe had better retire from the service. I have heard that it is likelyenough that he will get a hint the next time he has an affair of thissort. The last two were with civilians, and I believe that is the reasonwhy so few accept our invitations to mess; but I fancy if he gets intotrouble again with one of ourselves he will have to go."
"Well, I will try to go on a little longer if you say so, Wyatt, but--"
"There are no 'buts' in it, Wilmington. You must give me your word ofhonour that you will go on as you have done. Don't be afraid of anyonethinking you a coward. There is no cowardice in refusing to fight a manwho is so much your superior in skill that it would be nothing short ofsuicide in standing up against him. I have a private reason forbelieving that it won't last long."
"In that case I will give you my word of honour, Frank."
A week later there was an unusually large party at mess, the depots werevery strong, and some forty officers sat down; and it being a guestnight, four or five civilians were present. Dinner went on withoutincident until one of the mess waiters asked Wilmington whether he wouldtake sirloin of beef or goose. He replied, "B-b-b-b-beef." Therehappened to be a slight lull in the conversation at the moment, andWilmington's effort to get the word out made him raise his voice so thatit was generally heard.
"Waiter," Captain Marshall said loudly, "bring me some g-g-g-g-goose."
Wilmington's face flushed and then turned deadly pale. He lookedappealingly at Frank, who was sitting next to him. The latter whispered,"Remember your word of honour. Get up and leave the room." There was adead hush from those present as the young cornet rose and left the room,and then a low murmur of indignation. Captain Marshall looked roundsearchingly, as if to pick out one of those who had thus shown signs ofresentment. But directly the door closed upon Wilmington, Frank rose tohis feet.
"I wish, Mr. President," he said in a clear, steady voice, "to ask you,whether a man who, relying upon his skill with the pistol, wantonlyinsults another, is not a blackguard and unfit for the society ofgentlemen?"
Had a thunderbolt fallen in the room those present could not have beenmore surprised. Some of Frank's comrades knew that he often went toWoodall's shooting-gallery to practise with the pistol, but they had noidea that he had attained any great skill in its use, and theirimpression when he spoke was that he must have gone out of his mind thuspublicly to insult Marshall. The latter was at least as much astonishedas anyone else. He started as if struck with a blow, and then, leaningacross the table, he said in a low voice to Frank, who was sitting justopposite to him:
"Of course, you are prepared to answer to me for this, Mr. Wyatt?"
"Certainly," Frank said carelessly; "and at any time you please."
There was a strange hush in the dining-room until the cloth was removed.The guests, under one excuse or another, took their departure almostimmediately after the king's health had been drunk; the officers talkedin low tones together, and very soon rose from the table.
"Will you act for me, Captain Lister?" Frank said, going up to himquietly.
"Certainly, lad; but this is a horrible business. If it had been merelyan ordinary quarrel the colonel would have interfered to stop it, butafter what you said before us all, and with strangers present too, I amafraid it must go on. You must be mad, lad. I have not seen you shootsince that first evening when we went down, and two or three timesshortly afterwards. Woodall told me that you were getting on well; buthowever well you may have got on, you can be no match with a pistol fora man like Marshall; and you may be sure he won't spare you after sopublic an affront."
"I must take my chance," Frank said quietly. He had himself begged thegunmaker to say little to anyone about his shooting. "Come across to myquarters. I suppose he will be sending over there at once."
They had just taken their seats when there was a hurried knock on thedoor, and Wilmington came in, pale and agitated.
"This cannot go on, Wyatt!" he exclaimed. "You put me on my word ofhonour and then take it up yourself. Don't you see that I am hopelesslydisgraced in letting you be Marshall's victim for what he said of me. Ishall go to him and insist upon my right to
take the matter up myself."
"Sit down a minute, Wilmington, and be reasonable. If I get shot youcan, if you like, go out and get shot next day. But I don't mean to getshot. There is one broad distinction between you and me--you can'tshoot, and I can. Marshall could kill you without the slightest risk tohimself, and I flatter myself that if I chose to do so, I could kill himwith the same certainty. I shall not choose to do so. I don't want theblood of any man--not even of a ruffian like this--to rest upon my head.I shall simply prevent him from ever fighting another duel."
Captain Lister and the young cornet gazed at Frank as if they doubtedhis sanity.
"Do you quite know what you are saying, lad?" the former said kindly,after a pause. "You don't look as if you had been taking anything beforedinner, and we know that you are always abstemious at mess; still youare talking strangely."
"I daresay you think so," Frank replied with a smile. "You fancy theexcitement of this quarrel has a little turned my head. But it has notdone so. In the first place, I have learnt to be so quick in firing thatI am sure to get first shot."
"Yes, you might do that, lad," Captain Lister said sadly; "but it wouldbe the very worst thing you could do. With a hurried shot like that itwould be ten to one you missed him, and then he would quietly shoot youdown."
"Not only shall I not miss him," Frank replied, "but I will lay you anywager you like that I will carry off his trigger-finger, and probablythe second and third. Feel my hand. You see I am perfectly cool--as coolas I shall be to-morrow--and I do not think there is anything wild aboutmy eye. It is simply as I say: I am a first-rate shot--probably as muchbetter than Marshall as he is better than Wilmington. Ah, here is hisman! Please arrange it for to-morrow morning, if possible. The sooner itis over the better."
Captain Lister nodded and went out. He returned in a quarter of an hour.
"It is to come off to-morrow," he said, "at six o'clock. It is to be inthe field outside the wall, on the other side of the town. I have toldmy man to have the dogcart ready at half-past five. It did not take uslong to arrange matters. His second is Rankin, of his regiment; and Idon't think he liked the job at all. He began by saying:
"'I am afraid, Captain Lister, that there is no chance of our arrangingthis unhappy business. Nothing short of a public apology, and theacknowledgment that Mr. Wyatt was in liquor when he uttered the wordswill satisfy my principal, and I had great difficulty in bringing himeven to assent to that.'
"I said that you had not the most remote idea of making any apologywhatever. Therefore, we had only to arrange the preliminaries of ameeting.
"This was soon done. I could see that the young fellow was very much cutup over the affair, and that he had undertaken to act for Marshallbecause he was afraid to refuse. It did not take us five minutesaltogether. I looked in at the doctor's after we separated, to ask himto go with us.
"'It is none of my aid you are likely to want, Captain Lister,' he said,'and I protest against the whole affair; it is nothing short ofcold-blooded murder. Still, of course, I will go.'
"And now, lad, let us hear something more about your shooting."
"It is just as I told you, Captain Lister. I suppose I have an unusuallygood eye and steady hand, and have a sort of natural aptitude forshooting. Woodall said that he considered me as good a shot as any manin the country, if not better. I am afraid we mustn't fire a pistolhere, or I think I could convince you."
"No, we mustn't fire in barracks at this time of the evening, Wyatt. Butif you are as good as that, the prospects are better than I thought theywere. What can you do, lad?"
"I can hit a penny spun up into the air eighteen times out of twentywith my right hand, and sixteen or seventeen with my left."
"Is that so? Well, that ought to be good enough for anything," Listersaid. "It sounds almost miraculous. Now, let us have a look at yourpistols, lad."
"They are all right," Frank said. "I was using them this afternoon, andcleaned them when I came back."
"And you really mean to aim at his hand?"
Frank nodded.
"Well, of course, if you go a little high or a little low you will stillhave him; but if you go an inch or two wide you may miss him altogether.I would much rather, lad, that you aimed at the body. The fellow hasnever shown mercy to anyone, and there is no reason why you should showmercy to him."
"Don't be afraid of my missing him." And Frank spoke so confidently thathis hearers felt satisfied he must at least have some good foundationfor his faith in his skill.
"Well, I think you had better turn in now, Wyatt. Will you come acrossand have a cup of coffee with me before you start?"
"Thank you. Will you mind sending your servant across to call me at aquarter to five? I am not at all good at waking myself."
"All right, lad; I don't think I am likely to get much sleep."
"Don't say much to the others when you go out," Frank said. "You cantell them that, from what I say, it won't be such a one-sided affair asthey seem to think."
"All right. I will tell them as much as that, for they are in such astate of mind about it that it would be kind to give them a littleconsolation."
"By the way, Captain Lister, do I go out in uniform or in mufti?"
"In mufti, lad. Put on a gray or dark-coloured suit. Gray is the best;but, above all, don't take a coat with conspicuous buttons or anythingto catch the eye, that would be a fatal mistake. Good night, lad; Ishall turn in in better spirits than I expected to do."
Wilmington did not speak, but grasped Frank's hand warmly.
"Don't come out to-morrow," Frank said.
"I couldn't," the lad replied in a broken voice, "but I shall see youbefore you start."
"The major will come on with the doctor," Captain Lister said, as, aftertaking their coffee next morning, they went out to the trap standing atthe door. Frank looked round the barrack yard, but no one was about. "Isent them all away before you came, Wyatt. The lads all looked sowoebegone that I put it to them whether they considered that the sightof their faces was likely to improve your nerve. As to young Wilmington,he was like a ghost. I had almost to threaten to put him under arrestbefore I could persuade him to go without seeing you. No one will bethere but the major. He told me that he considered it his duty torepresent the regiment, but he quite approved of all the others stayingaway. He said the fewer there were present at an infamous business likethis the better. By the way, I made a condition with Rankin that youwere to be placed back to back, and neither was to move until the signalwas given; and I insisted that this should be by pistol shot, asotherwise you could not both see the signal equally well. I said thatthis was fairer than for you to stand face to face, and would increasethe chances of the affair not being a fatal one."
"Thank you, Lister. I was wondering whether you had made that condition,for if we stood ready to fire he might draw his trigger before I did,and things might go quite differently to what I had decided on. A badmarksman might hold his fire, but Marshall would rely so implicitly onhis skill that he would be sure to try and get first shot; for if Ifired first and missed, he would know that the feeling against him if heshot me down afterwards would be very strong."
"Now jump up, lad; I will take the reins. All right."
The soldier servant standing at the head of the horse released the holdof the reins, swung himself up behind as the horse started and theydrove out through the barracks gates, followed by the eyes of allFrank's comrades who, as soon as they heard the sound of the wheels, ranto their windows or doors to take, as they believed, their last look athim. They had, indeed, obtained slight consolation from the words withwhich Captain Lister had sent them off to their quarters--"Keep up yourspirits, lads. There is many a slip between the cup and the lip, and Ihave strong hopes that the affair is not going to turn out as bad as youfancy."
