“Hickey!”
“To the bat!” muttered Sam under his breath, taking his place. Hickey took long and careful aim, lowered his gun for a free look at the target then raised the weapon again. At last he fired.
He too, made a bull’s-eye.
One round had been fired and without a single miss on the part of any one of the three contestants. This was continued for three more rounds with no change in the result.
Excitement ran high. Nearly every apprentice on the grounds was hoping that either the red-haired boy or his companion might win. Flink had few admirers, though all gave him full credit for what he had accomplished so far in the contest.
This time Dan was called to the mark first, the officer in charge varying the routine for some reason of his own.
Dan scored a bull’s-eye.
Flink came next. This time he shot with less caution than before, and missed. Sam, however, made a bull’s-eye.
“Tied, sir. Shall they shoot it off?” asked the quartermaster, saluting the commandant of the station.
“Shoot it off,” was the reply.