Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-30
SHE WAS A RINGER

ascertatning, after he had given her three
or four LESSONS" that she had several
medals won in swimming contests. and
could swim several miles in the open sea
without drawing a long breath-the same
young man had another experience at the
place where he yacationized this sum-
mer. He has been telling about 1t with an
air Of great depression since his return to
Washington.
THE next time" he says, ''that attempt
to teach anything to a strange girl, from
playing duck-on-the-rock to holding on to
the strap Of a loop-the-loop car, it's going
to be while I'm in state Of somnambulism.
This girl came right close to being the
star locker among all the young women at
the beach hotel that had the distinction of
including me among its guests during the
early part Of July. and when 1 obtained an
introduction to her and started her OF on
race down Amusement row for fear that
somebody might come along and take her
away from me I felt as big the presi-
dent of traction company who has just
succeeded in placing S5.OOo.OO0 worth OF
watered stock on the market.
"Demure, rather reserved sort Of girl,
too. Didn't appear to be in the least aware
that she was a beauty. There was a win
some sort of shyness about her. in fact.
| that made vast hit with me.
There was something vaguely familiar
about the girls face too. and 1 spent a lot
of futile time in trying to figure out where,
II anywhere l had ever seen or met her. L
asked her, in fact. II there was any sort of
| chance of my having seen her before. but
she had never mingled in any of the cities
in which 1 had friends and acquaintance.
and SO 1 concluded that she merely looked
like somebody else had known.
We'll. on Diversion row gave her shy
at everything foolish that was going on,
from throwing the base balls at the dolls
to rolling the japanese billiard balls for
| chinaware prizes.
Finally we passed by shooting gallery.
Now I'm able to get by a shooting
gallery anywhere, particularly when I've
| got anybody with me with whom I'm de-
| srous Of making hit. I don't mind say
ing that I'm right fair on the shoot, having
| picked up lot Of that fairness as a men,
| be- OF the guard in practice at Sea Girt.
And so. when l have anybody on my arm
with whom I'm anxious to stand well
| never can pass by the open portal OF
| shooting gallery without feeling like trying
| for few bull and showing what
| skilled sort of gay dog l am, anyhow.
with the little gun.
Suppose we drop in here and try our
| luck with the pop-gun,' said 1 in my best
| oH-hand manner to the demure girl. Did
| you ever do any shooting in one Of these
| galleries.:
"'Oh. a long time ago. she said with a
certain archneSs.
"'Well. it's bully good sport said I. my
chest measurement increasing every minute
| at the thought Of what hit was going to
| make when l got to banging away at the
| larger bull seyesI figured that the girl
| nd never know whether was shooting at
| the tiny ones or the big ones. L think q
girl ought to know how to shoot just as
Wei as a man. It's easy enough, too, and
we went into the place.
| Let's have fine-sight gum said in
til expert way of mine to the man behind
| the shooting gallery counter and when he
| handed me the gun 1 paved it and hefted
| it and sighted it and looked it over gener-
| ally IKE an ad5utant engaged In inspecting
| the rifles Of soldiers going on guard
Il fired three or four shots at one of the
big holes. mailing the bell easily, and the
| eyes of the demure girl with me seemed to
| be quite wide with astonishment, not to
| say admiration.
Now, you try a few Shots I said to
| her, handing her the gun. You hold the
| gun this way You get that little nub at
| the END OF the gun between the points of
| the hindsight, you see. and when It is right
| in the middle and you have the point fixed
on what you're shooting at, why, you pull
| the trigger
She regarded me solemnIy, but sweetly,
all the time with her big. wideopen gray
eyes. ana when she raised the gun to her
shoulder and aimed it at of the big
bulPs-eyes sort of steadied her shoulder
Tor which she appeared to be quite grateful
| so she did. bless her ingenious soul!
w hen she pulled the trigger the loud ring
lolioWed and she turned an expression of
the most acute delight upon me- She SEEM
ed SO proud of having rung bull s-eye the
! very first time.
why, it's perfectly lovely isn't it?
| Shall try another shot?
" Sure-a dozen of Them I said to her,
meaning. when she got through to take the
| gun myself and show her what a tremen-
dous swell l was myself with the gun.
" Surprising you don't take hold of me to
| steady this time. the girl said to me
| then. I should like to hit that little hole
and feel that l had done it all myself. you
| know
We'll. that will be about ALL
First she went at the two long rows of
| clay pipes that were stuck up above the
NJ CHI ofi o.,
| that it sounded like the rataplan of toy tor
| pedoes that children put on a street car
! track on the Fourth of July, and every
| time the gun cracked a clay pipe fell down
| into a hundred splinters. AS soon as she
| emptied the magazine of one gun the shoot
| ing gallery man-who had strange sort of
a quizzical grin for me on his face-had an
other one loaded ready for her, and inside
| of something less than a minute she had
| just eighty-four clay pipes-all that were in
| sight-piled up back of the targets in splin-
| terry debris.
II wasn't saying word.
when she had finished putting the clay
pipes away, she grabbed another gun and
| began at the little shiny globes that danced
| eight Of them. They all went down, one
after another, something easy-she never
missed a shot.
Then she took another gun, held 1t up
side down. and began to blaze away at the
| bulf-eye Of the ttniest target in the gal
| lery-the hole wasn't much above quar-
| ter of an inch In diameter. Holding the
| gun upside down she hit the bell Of that
target every shot for a whole magazine
| full.
"Have you a gun mirror? she asked the
shooting gallery man, then. in her sweet
voice.
The shooting gallery man handed her
gun mirror which she deftly fastened to
| the little rifle. Then, turning her back to
the targets, and getting her range through
the gun mirror. she banged away again al
| that tiny target to the tune Of Yankee
| Doodle" which she whistled sweetly
| through her puckered lips, note for each
shot and bulls-eye.
THAT, as believe I remarked, was about
| all.
when I asked the shooting gallery man
| the amount of the bill he did little lgur-
| ing with a stub of a pencil.
"Half rates for professionals he said to
me, and l paid the score.
professionals. 1 remembered then, all
| in a huddle. why the young woman's face
had been so vaguely familiar to me. At
New York vaudeville theater last winter l
had seen her and her sister in buckskin
skirts and leggins and the rest Of that
Wild West rig doing fancy shooting Of a
marvellous sort-and was correct, for she
admitted it.
"'Oh, I feel about this high said I to
her as we left the gallery, and held my
palm about foot and a half above the
|