登陆注册
15454400000075

第75章 OUR ARCHERY CLUB(3)

"Why, it's easy enough," said he. "You see, I hung a lantern, with a reflector, before the target, just a little to one side. It lighted up the target beautifully, and I believe there was a better chance of hitting it than by daylight, for the only thing you could see was the target, and so your attention was not distracted. To be sure," he said, in answer to a question, "it was a good deal of trouble to find the arrows, but that I always have. When I get so expert that I can put all the arrows into the target, there will be no trouble of the kind, night or day. However," he continued, "I don't practise any more by night. The other evening I sent an arrow slam-bang into the lantern, and broke it all to flinders. Borrowed lantern, too.

Besides, I found it made Miss Martha very nervous to have me shooting about the house after dark. She had a friend who had a little boy who was hit in the leg by an arrow from a bow, which, she says, accidentally went off in the night, of its own accord.

She is certainly a little mixed in her mind in regard to this matter, but I wish to respect her feelings, and so shall not use another lantern."As I have said, there were many good archers among the ladies of our club. Some of them, after we had been organized for a month or two, made scores that few of the gentlemen could excel.

But the lady who attracted the greatest attention when she shot was Miss Rosa.

When this very pretty young lady stood up before the ladies' target--her left side well advanced, her bow firmly held out in her strong left arm, which never quivered, her head a little bent to the right, her arrow drawn back by three well-gloved fingers to the tip of her little ear, her dark eyes steadily fixed upon the gold, and her dress, well fitted over her fine and vigorous figure, falling in graceful folds about her feet, we all stopped shooting to look at her.

"There is something statuesque about her," said Pepton, who ardently admired her, "and yet there isn't. A statue could never equal her unless we knew there was a probability of movement in it. And the only statues which have that are the Jarley wax-works, which she does not resemble in the least. There is only one thing that that girl needs to make her a perfect archer, and that is to be able to aim better."This was true. Miss Rosa did need to aim better. Her arrows had a curious habit of going on all sides of the target, and it was very seldom that one chanced to stick into it. For if she did make a hit, we all knew it was chance and that there was no probability of her doing it again. Once she put an arrow right into the centre of the gold,--one of the finest shots ever made on the ground,--but she didn't hit the target again for two weeks. She was almost as bad a shot as Pepton, and that is saying a good deal.

One evening I was sitting with Pepton on the little front porch of the old ladies' house, where we were taking our after-dinner smoke while Miss Martha and Miss Maria were washing, with their own white hands, the china and glass in which they took so much pride. I often used to go over and spend an hour with Pepton. He liked to have some one to whom he could talk on the subjects which filled his soul, and I liked to hear him talk.

"I tell you," said he, as he leaned back in his chair, with his feet carefully disposed on the railing so that they would not injure Miss Maria's Madeira-vine, "I tell you, sir, that there are two things I crave with all my power of craving--two goals Ifain would reach, two diadems I would wear upon my brow. One of these is to kill an eagle--or some large bird--with a shaft from my good bow. I would then have it stuffed and mounted, with the very arrow that killed it still sticking in its breast. This trophy of my skill I would have fastened against the wall of my room or my hall, and I would feel proud to think that my grandchildren could point to that bird--which I would carefully bequeath to my descendants--and say, `My grand'ther shot that bird, and with that very arrow.' Would it not stir your pulses if you could do a thing like that?""I should have to stir them up a good deal before I could do it," I replied. "It would be a hard thing to shoot an eagle with an arrow. If you want a stuffed bird to bequeath, you'd better use a rifle.""A rifle!" exclaimed Pepton. "There would be no glory in that. There are lots of birds shot with rifles--eagles, hawks, wild geese, tomtits--""Oh, no!" I interrupted, "not tomtits."

"Well, perhaps they are too little for a rifle," said he. "But what I mean to say is that I wouldn't care at all for an eagle Ihad shot with a rifle. You couldn't show the ball that killed him. If it were put in properly, it would be inside, where it couldn't be seen. No, sir. It is ever so much more honorable, and far more difficult, too, to hit an eagle than to hit a target.""That is very true," I answered, "especially in these days, when there are so few eagles and so many targets. But what is your other diadem?""That," said Pepton, "is to see Miss Rosa wear the badge.""Indeed!" said I. And from that moment I began to understand Pepton's hopes in regard to the grandmother of those children who should point to the eagle.

"Yes, sir," he continued, "I should be truly happy to see her win the badge. And she ought to win it. No one shoots more correctly, and with a better understanding of all the rules, than she does. There must truly be something the matter with her aiming. I've half a mind to coach her a little."I turned aside to see who was coming down the road. I would not have had him know I smiled.

The most objectionable person in our club was O. J.

Hollingsworth. He was a good enough fellow in himself, but it was as an archer that we objected to him.

同类推荐
  • 太常寺观舞圣寿乐

    太常寺观舞圣寿乐

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • Cap'n Eri

    Cap'n Eri

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 钟吕传道集

    钟吕传道集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 运气门

    运气门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 外科集验方

    外科集验方

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 琏族占星师

    琏族占星师

    你听说过这样的一个传说吗?当人离开这个世界以后,他们会飞向遥远的夜空,成为深邃夜空中的一颗星星,默默地注视着这个世界、守护着这个世界、所以、只要有星星的夜晚就不用感到迷茫或害怕、因为、星星什么都知道。
  • 魂炼巅峰的巅峰

    魂炼巅峰的巅峰

    (这是一本创新小说,请读者能够珍惜这种稀有的品种!)本书主角生活在星球中最强的家族中。对于别人千辛万苦才能得到的资源,他只是需要一句话就能得到。。。。。。只是可惜主角不想成为强者,只想夜夜笙歌怎么办。。。。。。“这是一本主角和作者对着干的小说,还不来看就要被别人看到了。。。。。。”
  • 上仙大人:遇上呆萌徒弟

    上仙大人:遇上呆萌徒弟

    “师傅!”洛轻雨对着黎夜喊。黎夜揉揉太阳穴,想:这个徒弟啊。洛轻雨为了寻找儿时的玩伴,不料却当了长白山上仙黎夜的徒弟。不过,洛轻雨倒也觉得没什么,因为多了一个师傅,就多了一个人帮助。洛轻雨常常麻烦黎夜,对黎夜有所了解,可越了解下去,洛轻雨就发觉了一点什么。黎夜什么都知道,可他就是不告诉洛轻雨,到了最后,他说的都是:“她不知道没所谓,只要我知道就好了。”文章真的是不定时更新哦。【此文暂停中,因为要更新另外一本,这本先冷藏着。】
  • 南安杂货店

    南安杂货店

    东灵,有一个仙凡混杂的小城,城中有一个杂货店。一个普普通通的老百姓去杂货店买东西,出来之后,夸赞杂货店的东西物美价廉。身家丰厚的修士去杂货店买东西,出来只有一个感觉,黑,真他妈的黑。而那些为富不仁的家伙去杂货店买东西,对不起,请付上你的人头。…………这是一本略显操蛋,却充满正能量的修仙小说,如果您觉得还能看的下去,就赏个推荐吧。
  • 雪舞之恋

    雪舞之恋

    如果不是阎罗王的生死簿被人改了,而他一点也没有察觉到,我怎么会那么倒霉呢?居然是掉入污水井中被呛死的,古今天下,唯我一人是如此凄惨的下场吧!不过值得庆幸的是,阎罗王承诺补偿我,让我下辈子富贵、长命、健康、幸福、姻缘美满,为了这多多的好处,我被诱惑,于是勉为其难的同意让他补偿……因为我说错了话,气的鬼差大哥忘记最重要的程序,直接就让我转世去了,于是我带着21世纪的记忆转世到了个莫名的时空,一句话,总而言之,言而总之,我倒霉的穿越到了一个不知名的朝代,而且还是个刚出世的婴儿身上。
  • 核爆黎明

    核爆黎明

    事情发生在未来,那时候世界,已经毁灭在了核武器下,而幸存的30万人,居住在地下城市,不过由于年代久远,地下城市的人,面临着一个问题,就是如何搬迁到地面之上,一方面是因为,地面的残留的辐射,一方面是以畸形人为首的敌人
  • 异能者们:弑生者之战

    异能者们:弑生者之战

    与往日作品有别,本书将异能,悬疑,推理,校园,爱情等元素融合。旨在为大家展示一个不同的异能世界。本书主要讲述几位学生与暗黑势力斗争过程中的成长故事。
  • 金阙帝君三元真一经

    金阙帝君三元真一经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 暖宠101次:恶魔校草come

    暖宠101次:恶魔校草come

    韩倚槿刚刚转到学校就一个不小心被传说中的校草吻了,本以为从此以后不会在有所交集,结果校草同志找她负责,她才不干这么亏本的的事呢!她躲,他找,就这样玩起了猫捉老鼠的游戏。谁知她却越陷越深。“喂喂!你干嘛呢小心我揍你”,“任君宰割”“……”『宠文,男女主身心干净,欢迎入坑。』
  • 修仙慕道

    修仙慕道

    大抵修真慕道,须凭积行累功,若不苦志虔心,难以超凡入圣。或于教门用力,大起尘劳;或于心地下功,全抛世事~