Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-24

Il
"Oh, Lord!" exclaimed two or three;
now we have It, It'll take him as long
to shoot as 1t would take Squire Dob
bins to run round a track o. land"
Goodbye. boys said Bob Martin.
Where are you going, Bob?"
Going to gather in my crop; I'll be
back agin, though, by the time Slime
Stow shoots"
Simon was used to all this, and
therefore Ii did not disconcert him In
the least He went off and brought his
own target, and set 1t up with his own
hand.
| He then wiped out his rifle; rubbed
the pan with his hat; drew piece of
tow through the touchhole with his
wiper; filled his charger with great
care; poured the powder into the rife
with equal caution; showed in with
his finger the two or three va
grant grains that lodged round the
mouth of his piece; took out a hand
full of bullets, looked them all over
carefully, selected one without flaw or
wrinkle; drew out his patching, found
the most even part Of It, sprung open
the grease-box in the breech Of his
rifle; took up just so much grease, dis
tributed 1t with great equality over the
chosen part of his patching; laid 1t
over the muzzle of his rifle, grease side
down; placed his ball upon 1t, pressed
1t little; then took 1t UP and turned
the neck little more perpendicularly
downward. placed his knife handle on
1t. just buried 1t in the mouth of the
rifle; cut off the redundant patching
just above the bullet, looked at It,
and shook his head, in token that he
had cut off too much or too little-no
one knew which-sent down the ball;
measured the contents of his gun with
his first and second fingers on the
protruding part of the ramrod; shook
his head again. to signify there was
too much or too little powder; primed
carefully; placed an arched piece OF
tin over the hind sight to shade It,
took his place; got friend to hold his
hat over the fore sight to shade It; took
very long sight, fired, and didn't
even eat the paper.
my piece was badly loadned," said
Simon, when he learned the place OF
his ball.
"Oh, you didn't take time" said
Mealy. mo man can shoot that's In
such hurry as you is. I'd hardly got
to sleep fore / heard the crack O. the
gum"
The next was Moses Firmly. He
was a tall slim man, Of rather sallow
compilations; and 1t Is a singular fact
that though probably no part OF the
world is more healthy than the noun
famous parts of Georgia, the noun
taineers have not generally robust
frames or fine compilations; they are,
however, almost inexhaustible by toll.
Moses kept us not long in suspense.
His rife was already charged, and he
fixed it upon the target with stead
mess Of nerve and aim that was as
tonishing to me and alarming to all
the rest. A few seconds, and the re-
port Of his rifle broke the deathlike 81
lence which prevailed.
mo great harm done yet" said Spi-
vey, manifestly relieved from anxiety
by an event which seemed to me better
calculated to produce despair. Firm
by's ball had cut out the lower angle
of the diamond, directly on right line
with the cross.
Three or four followed him without
bettering his shot; all Of whom, how
ever, with one exception, "eat the pa
| per-"
It now came to Spivey's turn There
was nothing remarkable in his person
or manner. He took his place, lower
ed his rifle slowly from a perpendicu-
lar until it came on a line with the
mark held it there like wise for a
moment, and fired.
Pretty sevigrous, but nothing killing
yet" said Billy Curlew, as he learned
the place Of Spiveys ball.
Spivey's ball had just broken the up
per angle of the diamond, beating
Firmly about half its width.
A few more shots, in which there
was nothing remarkable. brought us to
Billy Curlew. Billy stepped out with
much confidence, and brought the
Soap-stick to an order, while he delib-
erately rolled up his shirt-sleeves. Had
| I judged Of Billys chance of success
| he Of chnll16
have said it was hopeless. The stock
Of Soap stick seemed to have been
made with a case knife, and had 1t
been, the tool would have been but
poor apology for its clumsy appear
ance An auger-hole in the breech
served for a grease box; a cotton
string assisted a single screw in hold
ing on the lock; and the thimbles
were made, one of brass, one of iron,
and one Of tin.
| where's Lark Spivey's bullet?" call
ed out Billy to the judges, as he fin
ished rolling up his sleeves.
| About three-quarters Of an inch
from the cross" was the reply
well, clear the way! the Soap
sticks coming, and she'll be along in
there among 'em presently"
Billy now planted himself astraddle,
like an inverted V; shot forward his
left hip, drew his body back to an an
gle of about forty-five degrees with the
plane of the horizon, brought his
cheek down close to the breech Of old
Soap-stick and fixed her upon the mark
with untrembling hand. His sight was
long and the swelling muscles Of his
left arm led me to believe that he was
lessening his chance of success with
every half second that he kept it bur-
dened with his ponderous rifle; but 1t
neither tagged nor wavered until
Soap-stick made her report.
Where am II" said Billy as the
smoke rose from before his eye.
you've jist touched the cross on the
lower side," was the reply of one of the
judges.
II was afraid l was drawing my
bead a leetie too fine" said Billy.
Now Lyman, you see what the Soap
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