640 ikinQB ot tbe 1Ro&, IRifle, ant) (Bun 



and in another instant the same sound and the same 

 signal told the multitude that the contest remained as 

 undecided as ever. A second time the two champions 

 came up to the mark, and a second time the shots 

 were equal, and the tie as even as before. Once again 

 they fired, but with no other result than again establish- 

 ing their equality. Three bullets in succession had 

 each of them put into the target at 1,000 yards range, 

 but so exactly matched was each pair of shots that 

 it was impossible to make any distinction of merit. 

 By this time however the excitement of the spectators 

 had become intense, and those peculiar and involuntary 

 expressions of emotion which fireworks alone have 

 hitherto extracted from a British crowd, were audible 

 all over the Southport sands. At length for the fourth 

 time Lieutenant Ick appeared, and for the fourth time 

 the crack of his piece rang along the shore. He bent 

 forward listening anxiously for the ring of the bullet, 

 and as anxiously and with the most breathless silence 

 did the spectators listen too ; but no sound was heard 

 nor was any signal displayed. He had missed. It 

 was not surprising under circumstances of such excite- 

 ment ; but the game was alive still, the conditions were 

 precisely the same for his antagonist, who might miss 

 also. The people thought he would there was a 

 manifest feeling of this kind prevalent in the crowd. 

 Mr. Leece stepped forward again. His antagonist had 

 always fired from the knee ; he himself had always 

 adopted a squatting posture, with his heels firmly 

 driven into the sand. He was soon seated, and up 

 went the rifle to his shoulder, but only to be dropped 



