he steamer takes us too far
away, unless you manage to sink it sooner."

I looked at my uncle to see if he was laughing at me, but he was quite
serious, and, in obedience to his order, I loaded and stood ready.

"Now, look here, my boy," he said; "this will be rather a difficult
task, for both your target and you are in motion. So you must aim as
well as you can. I should draw trigger just as the bladder is rising."

"But how shall we know if I hit it?"

"You are not very likely to hit it, Nat," he said smiling; "but if you
do, the bladder will collapse--the bottle be shivered to fragments, and
sink. Now let us see."

It made me feel nervous to see so many people collect about me, one and
all eager to witness my skill, and I knew enough French to understand a
good many of their remarks. Some said I must be a very skilful shot,
others that I could not shoot at all; and one way and another they
disconcerted me so that, when my uncle threw the first bladder over the
side, and I saw it floating away, I felt so confused that I let it get
some distance before I fired.

"Reload," said my uncle; and I did so, and fired again.

"Reload," he said; and, having obeyed him, I waited till the bladder was
on the top of a wave, and again fired without result.

"Again," said my uncle; "don't hesitate, and fire sharply."

The bladder was now getting a long way astern and looking very small, so
small that I knew I should not hit it, and consequently I felt no
surprise that it should go floating away.

"Don't lose time, Nat," my uncle continued, just as if it was quite a
matter of course that I should go on missing shot after shot.

So once more I prepared to fire, and as I did so I saw that two of the
French passengers had their telescopes fixed upon the object at which,
after taking very careful aim, speck as it seemed, I fired.

To my utter astonishment, as the smoke rose I saw no bladder was
floating on the waves, a fact of which the lookers-on had already
informed me by a round of applause.

"He would not hit them when they were close," cried one passenger. "I
said, he would not try. It was un grand shot, messieurs, un coup
merveilleux."

I felt scarlet in the face, and grew the more and more ashamed as first
one and then another insisted upon shaking hands with me.

"Now, Nat," said my uncle in a low voice, "after that you will lose your
character if you do not hit some more."

"Pray, don't send out another,