Part 11 (2/2)

Already she was tired and longed to go to sleep, but she was afraid to speak her wish As the silence of the cabin deepened, and the noise of the stor the door, and beating on thepane--her uneasiness gave way to stark fear

But all at once she looked up to find Bill's eyes upon her, full of sy ”You'll want to turn in now,” he told her

”You take the bunk again, of course--I'll sleep on the floor I'm comfortable there--I could sleep on rocks if need be”

”Can't you get soirl spoke nervously

”They'd be in the way, but ot to fix your boidoir”

He took one of the boxes that served as a chair and stood it up on the floor, just in front of her bunk Then, holding one of the blankets in his arm and a few nails in his hand, he climbed upon the box She understood in an instant He was curtaining off the entire end of the cabin where Virginia slept

The girl's relief showed in her face Her eyes lighted, her apprehension was largely dispelled She wasn't blind to his thoughtfulness, his quick syrateful And she was also vaguely touched onder

”You can go in there now,” he told her ”But there's one thing--I want to show you--before you turn in”

”Yes?”

”I want to show you this little pistol” He took a light arm of blue steel from his belt,--the silled the grouse ”It's only a twenty-two,” Bill went on, ”but it shoots a long cartridge, and it shoots ten of 'eer You could kill a caribou with it, if you hit hiht”

”Yes?” And she wondered at this curious interlude in their

”You see this little catch behind the trigger guard?” The girl nodded

”When you want to fire it, all you have to do is to push up the little catch with your thu to teach you how to shoot with it--I rouse at twenty feet And so it will bring you luck, I want you to sleep with it,--under your pillow”

Understanding flashed through her, and a slow, grateful smile played at her lips ”I don't want it, Bill,” she told hied He slipped it under her pillow ”And even before you learn to shoot it well--you could--if you had to--shoot and kill a ain and drew her curtain

Bill was true to his proinia to shoot The next day he put up an eet practice

First he showed her how to hold the weapon and to stand ”See the can just over the sights and press back gradually,” he urged

The first shot ide of itsher closely, Bill found out her mistake

”You flinch,” he told her ”It's an oldhunters--and the only way you can avoid it is by deepest concentration Skill in hunting--as well as in everything else--depends upon throwing the whole energy of your mind and body into that one little part of an instant when you pull the trigger It's all right to be excited before

You're not huame knocked over, you're not excited after

But unless you can hold like iron for that fraction of a second, you can't shoot and you never can shoot”

”But I'ot full discipline of your nerves, just the same

You're a little afraid of the sound and the explosion, and you flinch back--just a little er

If it is only an eighth of an inch here, it's quite a ain, but convince yourself first that you won't flinch You won't jerk or throw off your aim”