RIFLE SHOOTING. 1:35 



The prince had a good supply of ammuni- 

 tion and no use for it, so I determined not to 

 attempt to compete with him as a marksman, 

 as my five and twenty rounds had to last me 

 back to Kutais. When the bourka had been 

 arranged to the prince's satisfaction one of 

 the gentlemen in goatskins approached from 

 the courtyard, and drivmg his dagger into one 

 of the pillars of the verandah, made a rough 

 and ready rest for the prince's Berdianka. 

 Considering that he knew the range and his 

 weapon, our host did not make very wonderful 

 practice, but after about a dozen shots he 

 made a hole in the bourka which I failed to do 

 with the two cartridges which I consented to 

 waste, shooting with a rifle sighted for 250 

 yards, at a mark about 500 yards distant. 

 Frank's ' Peabody ' made better shooting than 

 my ' Express ' at this long range, and I had to be 

 content to let them think the little ' Express ' a 

 useless tool, trusting that a reasonable shot at 



