be a pleasure to teach you, Mr. Wyatt. I should say, from your
look, you are likely to turn out a first-rate shot."

"It won't be for want of trying if I don't," Frank replied.

"If you will take my advice, sir, you will learn to shoot with both
hands. For a civilian who never wants to use a pistol except in a duel,
the right hand is all that is necessary, but for a cavalry-man, the left
is the useful hand. You see an officer always carries his sword in his
right hand, and if he has got to shift it to his left before he can use
his pistol, he could never use it at all, if hard pressed in a fight.
Another thing is, that the left side is the weak side of a horseman.
His sword is all right in defending him if attacked on the right, but if
he is attacked on the left he is fighting under a big disadvantage. He
has much more difficulty in guarding himself on that side, and he has
nothing like the same reach for striking as he has on the other."

"That is quite true, now I come to think of it," Frank said; "though I
never gave it a thought before. Yes, I see that the left hand is the
most useful one, and I will practice with that as well as with the
other. Well, what hour will suit you?"

"It don't make much difference to me, sir; the evenings are getting
longer; you can see well enough until five."

"Well, then, shall we say half-past four?"

"Half-past four will suit very well, Mr. Wyatt. It is four o'clock now,
so if you like to take your first lesson to-day I will meet you at the
shed in half an hour. You cannot miss the place, it is on the right side
of the road and stands by itself, and there is my name over the door."

"Thank you; I will be there," Frank replied.

"I may as well come with you, Wyatt," Captain Lister said. "I will fire
a few shots myself, for I have had no practice for the last two years,
and I have a fancy to see what I can do with my left hand. I have never
tried with it, and I quite agree with Woodall that it is the left hand
that a cavalry-man should use."

Frank was a good deal surprised at first to see how much more difficult
it was to hit a mark, even at the distance of twelve paces, than he
imagined that it would be. Woodall would not allow him to take aim.

"You will never get a chance to do that, Mr. Wyatt, in a fight; you have
got to whip out your pistol, to throw up your arm and fire. It has got
to be done by instinct rather than by aim. It is all very well to aim
when you are on yo