WINNING A BET
One of the best stories told about Sir John French is how, one night at dinner, some officers were discussing rifle-shooting. The general was listening, as was his wont, without making any remark, until at length he chipped in with:
“Say, I’ll bet anyone here,” in his calm, quiet, deliberate way, “that I can fire ten shots at 500 yards and call each shot correctly without waiting for the marker. I’ll stake a box of cigars on it.”
The major present accepted the offer, and the next morning the whole mess was at the shooting range to see the trial.
Sir John fired. “Miss!” he announced. He fired again. “Miss!” he repeated. A third shot. “Miss!”
“Hold on there!” protested the major. “What are you doing? You are not shooting at the target at all.”
But French finished his task. “Miss!” “Miss!” “Miss!”
“Of course I wasn’t shooting at the target,” he said. “I was shooting for those cigars.”