The Colonel busied himself loading the pistols with all the quickness of an adept as his pupil fired, keeping him at it for quite a couple of hours, with intervals of rest. Now he made him fire at one card, then at another, practising as at his adversary's arms, head, and body, till Richard looked at him wearily. "Yes; that will do now," said Colonel Mellersh. "You may congratulate yourself, Dick, upon being a horribly bad shot; but you will be able to handle your pistol properly, and raise it like a man who is used to the weapon." "What is the use of that," said Richard, smiling, "if I cannot aim straight?" "A great deal. If you had taken hold of your pistol in a bungling way to-morrow, Rockley would have felt that he had you at his mercy, and he would have been as cool as a fish. Now he will see that you know what a pistol is, and be perfectly ignorant of the fact that you are unskilful of aim. He will think he has a dangerous adversary before him, and be more likely nervous than cool." "I see," said Richard, with his eyes lighting up. "I've had my turn at the scoundrel, and I'm satisfied. Of course I don't want to hit him, but at the same time I don't want him to hit me." "Oh!" said the Colonel drily, "I thought you did." "What! want him to hit me! Why?" "You seemed so cool over it." "Oh, but I'm not," said Richard gravely. "I suppose a good shot would hit one of those cards?" "Time was, Dick, when I could have put half a dozen shots in either of them. I don't know that I could hit one now." He raised the pistol he had been loading as he spoke, took a quick aim, and hit the centre card just on the edge, driving it into the bark of the tree. "Bad!" he said. "Let's try another." He aimed at the card representing the enemy's right arm fired, and struck it also about a quarter of an inch from the edge. "Out of practice, Dick," he said, thrusting the pistols into their dark cloth bags, and replacing them in his pocket. "There, my lad, let's get home. Dine lightly this evening, go to bed in good time, and have a long night's rest." "When is the meeting?" said Richard calmly. "At six to-morrow morning." "Where did you say?" "On the sands, two miles out below the east cliff." "Why there?" "We shall want an excuse for going out so early, my lad. We can be going to bathe, and so be unnoticed, and there will be no fear of an interruption," said the Colonel grimly. "This is to be no play affair, Dick. An officer in His Majesty's service cannot submit to a horse-whipping from a civilian without trying to get ample satisfaction." He looked at Richard with a grave air of pity in his countenance. "Did you ever shoot a man?" said Richard, as they were walking briskly back. "Do you mean wounded or killed?" "The latter." "Once, Dick." The young man's countenance contracted, and he looked at his companion almost in horror.