Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/86

 MARK TWAIN

No ; for that would imply sanity, and these were all Cooper people.

The respect for Pathfinder s skill and for his quickness and accuracy of sight [the italics are mine] was so profound and general, that the instant he made this declaration the spectators began to distrust their own opinions, and a dozen rushed to the target in order to ascertain the fact. There, sure enough, it was found that the Quartermaster s bullet had gone through the hole made by Jasper s, and that, too, so accurately as to require a minute examination to be certain of the circumstance, which, however, was soon clearly established by discovering one bullet over the other in the stump against which the target was placed.

They made a &quot;minute&quot; examination; but never mind, how could they know that there were two bullets in that hole without digging the latest one out? for neither probe nor eyesight could prove the presence of any more than one bullet. Did they dig? No; as we shall see. It is the Path finder s turn now; he steps out before the ladies, takes aim, and fires.

But, alas! here is a disappointment ; an incredible, an unimaginable disappointment for the target s aspect is unchanged ; there is nothing there but that same old bullet-hole !

&quot;If one dared to hint at such a thing,&quot; cried Major Duncan, &quot; I should say that the Pathfinder has also missed the target!&quot;

As nobody had missed it yet, the &quot;also&quot; was not necessary; but never mind about that, for the Path finder is going to speak.

&quot;No, no, Major,&quot; said he, confidently, &quot; that would be a risky declaration. I didn t load the piece, and can t say what was in

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