le, as the
wood of which they were made was very hard, and could be sharpened to a
fine point; and, being feathered, the missiles flew straight to the mark
when pointed in the right direction.

"Now, captain," said Paul, on the morning they set out, "let's see what
you can do with your cross-bow at the first bird you meet. I mean the
first eatable bird; for I have no heart to kill the little twitterers
around us for the mere sake of practice."

"That will I right gladly," said Trench, fixing his bow and string, and
inserting a bolt with a confident air.

"And there's a chance, daddy! See! a bird that seems to wish to be
shot, it sits so quietly on the tree."

The seaman raised his weapon slowly to his shoulder, shut the wrong eye,
glared at the bird with the other, took a long unsteady aim, and sent
his bolt high over the creature's head, as well as very much to one
side.

"Might have been worse!" said the captain.

"Might have been better," returned Paul, with equal truth. "Now it's my
turn."

The bird, all ignorant of the fate intended for it, sat still,
apparently in surprise.

Paul drew his cloth-yard shaft to his ear and let fly. It went
apparently in search of the captain's bolt.

"Now me!" cried the impatient Olly, in a hoarse whisper, as he placed a
stone in the sling and whirled it round his head. His companions drew
off! There was a "burring" noise as the stone sped on its mission and
struck the tree-stem with a sounding crack, three yards from the bird,
which, learning wisdom from experience, at last took wing.

In anticipation of their chance coming round again, both Paul and the
captain had got ready their artillery, and Oliver hastily put another
stone in his sling. A look and exclamation of disappointment were given
by each as the bird vanished, but just at that moment a large rabbit
darted across their path. Whiz! twang! burr! went bolt and bow and
stone, and that rabbit, pierced in head and heart, and smitten on flank,
fell to rise no more.

"Strange!" said Trench, in open-mouthed surprise, "I've often heard of
coincidences, but I never did see or hear of the like of that."

"All three to hit it at once!" exclaimed Paul.

"Ay, and all three of us doin' our best to hit it, too," exclaimed
Oliver.

"Just so--that's the puzzle, lad," rejoined the captain. "If we had
been tryin' to hit something else now, there would have been nothing
strange about it! But to hit what we all aim