Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1912-01-12
THE SHARP
SHOOTER
b. IVAN NRONSkI
Copyright BY American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.
b. IVAN NRONSkY


women and children shut up In the
fortress. sineularly 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 q number
Of the officers preferred to have their
families with them to being separat-
ed from them. General Stoessel.
the Russian commander. set the exam
ple by having his own wife In Port
Arthur. so 1t was not remarkable that
others followed suit. 1t Il said mat
number of children during the siege
were playing about In the fortress ana
sometimes among the guns on the ram
parts. exposed 10 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 tuAu oLiJ gunner IN ~AAo
army.
With Tomsky was a young sharp
shooter named Alexis Petron, dead
shot. who did most Of the rife work.
picking on 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 OF one by one the gunners that
were directing the firing.
Petron was a mere boy. Not hair
had shown itself on his face, not even
a bit Of down. That on his head was
Of the lightest Of the light northern
hue while his eyes were correspond
ing azure. He seemed very much At
tached t. the big man who directed the
big gun. with his shocky hair and
beard and fierce mustachlos. Indeed,
each seemed fitted for his especial
work. Toinsky to send forth the great
cannon balls. weighing couple OF hun
dred pounds, Petron 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, III all our generals could be
tv>t<> a m
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
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 XIII him he had not long to live. 1t
happened that after he was pointed
out he did not show himself for some
time, but as soon as he did he received
4 bullet In his forehead that finished
his career.
The grief of his assistant at his loss
was touching to see. Petron was at
fected to tears. The Russian peasant
soldiers, who were more like cattle than
men. could not understand how a man
could weep, But presently Petrofrs
feelings changed from grief to revenge.
His comrades could understand that,
and as they saw Petroff take up his
rife and hug 1t as II 1t we're dear
child they looked at one another as II
to say
Now Petrofr Is man again; he
will make the little monkeys pay for
killing the big sergeant"
From that time Petrofr was always
behind the ramparts watching through
a portfolio for some Japanese to show
himself When one did 30 but an An
slant would elapse before he would
pitch forward or backward. and 1t
would be discovered by his compan-
ions that he had either been killed or
MORALLY wounded.
Every time Petron killed a Japanese
he would punch hole In his cap. AZ
the s!ege went on the holes became
20 numerous that there was scarcely
room enough for them all. In time
they passed the hundred mark. But
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 he
had 1T holes punched In his cap.
There we're 1900 prisoners taken
by the Japs in the surrender Of Port
Arthur One day when a lot OF Rus
slams were lined up to be marched TO
transport a woman passed. She was
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 It up to the
light. showing punctures like 4 cluster
Of stars.
do you see thatr' she said. Each
hole stands for a japanese killed b.
e. use they killed my husband"
Who was your husband?''
Sergeant Tomsky."
"And your
alexis Petro6. his shArpshooter"
What. You Alexis Petro6. the
sharpshooter who has killed 90 many
Of the little devtlsr'
Look at the holes. have had one
OF the devils for each hole"
We'll. well, And you. being q wo-
man. have only 10 put on skirts and