THE LONG TRAIL 



ability as a marksman, produced far 

 greater results than mere skill with a rifle 

 unaccompanied to any marked extent 

 by the other attributes. It was the sum 

 of all these qualities, each above the aver- 

 age, but none emphasized to an extraor- 

 dinary degree, that accounted for father's 

 great success in the hunting field. He 

 would point out many an excellent shot at 

 a target who was of no use against game. 

 Sometimes this would be due to lack of 

 nerve. Father himself was equally cool 

 and rnconcerned whether his quarry was a 

 charging lion or a jack- rabbit; with, when 

 it came to the question of scoring a hit, the 

 resultant advantage in the size of the for- 

 mer as a target. In other instances a good 

 man at the range was not so good in the 

 field because he was accustomed to shoot- 

 ing under conventional and regulated con- 

 ditions, and fell down when it came to 

 20 



