"You see, all of you, this insolent young fellow has challenged me to a trial of skill," Dirck said to his companions. "I would not have condescended to compete with him, for there is no credit to be gained in beating such a boy; but he wants taking down, and I am glad to have the opportunity of doing it. Now, Mr. Allnutt, I will leave it to you to settle the distance and the mark. I say anything between a hundred and five hundred yards; but two hundred is the general distance we have for our matches." "What do you say to two hundred, Yorke?" "That will suit me very well, though I should prefer a thousand." The Boers had all dismounted. "Then let us go out behind the house, Mr. Allnutt," one of them said, "we can easily choose a mark there." Yorke went into the house to get his rifle and soon joined them. They went a short distance, and then the Boer said, "That rock there is about two hundred yards away, it will make a very fair mark." "It would be difficult to judge which is the centre," Yorke said, "and might give rise to dispute." "That is so," the Boer said gravely. "I saw an empty tin in the yard, the bottom of that will make a very good bull's-eye." Mr. Allnutt shouted, "Hans!" The lad was standing at the gate of the yard looking after them. He had heard the conversation, but dared not follow them. "Hans, wrench the top off that tin by the kitchen door and bring it here." They then walked on to the rock, where, in two or three minutes, Hans joined them with the top of the tin. It had been a two-pound tin, and the circle was some four inches across. "It will stand very well on this projection on the face," the Boer said. "It will then be as nearly as possible in the centre." "But it will tumble down every time it is hit." "Hans will stand near and pick it up again," Mr. Allnutt said. "It had better be fixed," the Boer remarked. "There is a little crack in the rock, a nail driven through the tin would hold it there. It is better to do the thing properly." Dirck laughed. "By all means do it properly, though I cannot see why we should trouble about such a farce as this." Mr. Allnutt paid no attention to this speech, but said, "Go and take a hammer, Hans, and a good-sized nail, and cut the bottom out of another tin and bring that here too. If three or four holes are made, the question may arise as to which is the last." The lad ran off. "Now, Mr. Van Laun, while he is away we may as well arrange as to how they had better shoot--how many shots each shall fire, whether they shall shoot alternately, or one fire his shots at one of the pieces of tin, and then the other take the new target. I think that will be the best, then no dispute can arise." "I agree with you. How many times shall each fire?" After discussion it was agreed that each should fire ten shots. "Now, it will be fair," the Boer said, "to toss up for who shall fire first. What do you say? Heads shall mean Dirck, tails your lad."