142 A Sportsman at Large 



Out of fifteen shooters, and when seven rounds had been ac- 

 complished, there were only three left standing and I was one 

 of them. 



The others were my friend Roberts (standing at the limit 

 distance, thirty metres) and Prince Victor Dhuleep Singh, at 

 twenty-two metres. My form being unknown, I had been 

 placed on the regulation twenty-seven mark. The eighth 

 round was commenced by Roberts. He refused to back 

 himself. 



Now I have always looked upon this good friend of mine as 

 absolutely beyond reproach and above suspicion , and yet, how 

 came it that he missed a comparatively easy bird with both 

 barrels ? 



I am sorry it was so, and yet I could not help a kindly 

 emotion, as I took up my position and called, " Are you 

 ready ? " followed by, " Pull ! " I hit my bird a rather 

 sharp one with both barrels, but it struggled on and topped 

 the boundary. Victor got " an owl," and dashing it down 

 within a yard of the trap, was declared the winner. 



" Why did you miss that bird ? " I asked of Roberts. 



" Because, Cockie, I couldn't hit it ! " was his cryptic answer, 

 with which I had to rest content ; but I felt convinced that a 

 win by his pupil would have pleased him enormously ! 



After this, I made my debut at the Great Tir itself and con- 

 tinued to shoot regularly. I divided a pool or two, but never 

 touched one of the big prizes that season. Certainly, I did 

 not disgrace myself, for my shooting was consistent and my 

 average rather more than respectable. 



For the first time, I shot in the Grand Prix du Casino. 

 There was a very large entry and a thoroughly cosmopolitan 

 one. Only two rounds were got through the fiist day. I 

 managed to survive these, and started with two more kills 

 on the second, but then I let a fast bird go ; killed the next 

 and muffling my seventh, which placed me hors de tir ; so I 

 retired gracefully and looked on. 



I may here state that from first to last I competed nine 

 times in this world-famous annual affair, and only once was 

 within measurable distance of winning. On that occasion, I 

 had killed ten birds straight and went up for my penultimate 



