The herald., 1911-09-14
THE SHARP
SHOOTER
By IVAN VRONSKY
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.
By IVAN VRONSKY

| POrt Artuur there Nele a huhhpSA Va
women and children shut up in the
fortress. Singularly enough, they were
there, the women by their own con-
sent and the children by the consent
Of their parents. Discipline was very
lax among the Russians, and number
of the officers preferred to have their
families with them to being separat-
ed from them. General Stoessel,
the Russian commander, SIT the exam
pie by having his own wife in Fort
Arthur, so 1t was not remarkable that
others followed suit 1t is said that
number Of children during the siege
were playing about in the fortress and
sometimes among the guns on the ram
parts, exposed to shot and shell. But
the enlisted men were not allowed to
have wives or children with them.
Sergeant Boris Tomsky was gun
ner Of renown. He was in charge OF
one of the big guns on Two Hundred
and Three Meter hill and did more
damage to the japanese with his
piece than any gunner in the Russian
army.
With Tomsky was young sharp
shooter named Alexis Petrof, dead
shot, who did most of the rife work.
picking off japanese who were work
ing guns that were doing especial dam
age.
While the sergeant was firing I'M
mense balls from his pet cannon In an
effort to silence some japanese gun
that IL left alone would surely make
an important breach. Petroff would be
picking off one by one the gunners that
were directing the firing.
Petroff was a mere boy. Not hair
had shown itself ON his face, not even
q bit of down. That on his head was
Of the lightest of the light northern
hue while his eyes were a correspond
ing azure. He seemed very much at
tached to the big man who directed the
big gun. with his shOcky hair and
beard and fierce mustachios. Indeed.
each seemed fitted for his especial
work, Tomsky to send forth the great
cannon balls. weighing a couple OF hun
dred pounds, Petroff to dispatch the
thin leaden bullets.
Tomsky kept on dismOunting guns
and doing other damage to the Japa-
nese until he became famed among his
comrades for the most useful single
man in the Russian army. They used
to say, "If all our generals could be
turned into Tomsky gunners the Japa-
nese would never take Port Arthur"
But at last the Japs got on to the
fact that this wholesale destruction of
life and ordnance was due to one man,
and they were not long in locating the
big gunner on Two Hundred and Three
Meter hill. Then they called for one
4 of the best sharpshooters in the army
and, pointing out Tomsky to him, or
dered the Jap to eliminate the big Rus
sian. Once the gunner was located
and a sharpshooter especially detailed
to kill him he had not long to live. IL
happened that after he was pointed
out he did not show himself for some
time, but as soon as he did he received
a bullet in his forehead that finished
his career.
The grief Of his assistant at his loss
was touching to see. PetrOh was at
fected to tears. The Russian peasant
soldiers, who were more like cattle than
men. could not understand how man
could weep. But presently Petroff's
feelings changed from grief to revenge
His comrades could understand that
and as they saw Petroff take up his
rifle and hug it as If it were a deal
child they looked at one another as II
to say:
Now Petroff is a man again; he
will make the little monkeys pay fol
killing the big sergeant"
From that time Petroff was always
behind the ramparts watching through
portfolio for some japanese to show
himself. When one did so but an in
slant would elapse before he would
pitch forward or backward. and II
would be discovered by his compan
ions that he had either been killed OF
MORALLY wounded.
Every time Petroff killed japanese
| NE WOuiu puuCu uOit III Cap. aS
the siege went on the holes became
so numerous that there was scarcely
room enough for them all. In time
they passed the hundred mark. Bul
this did not satisfy the young marks
man, and be went on relentlessly max
ing one Jap after another bite the
dust till the surrender came. when be
had III holes punched in his cap.
There were $1,000 prisoners taker
by the Japs in the surrender Of Por'
Arthur. One day when lot Of Rus
SLAMS were lined up to be marched t
transport a woman passed. She wa.
dressed in feminine apparel. except the
big military Russian cap. The sol
diers Laughed and jeered at her. TAX
ing Of her cap. she held 1t up to thu
light. showing punctures like clustel
of stars.
do you see that?" she said. "Eacf
hole stands for Japanese killed be
cause they killed my husband"
"Who was your husbandT
Sergeant Tomsky."
"And your
"Alexis Petroff. his sharpshooter."