"Davis, do you think you could learn to sight a gun?"
"Yes, sir; I think so."
"You'll get the chance. We will give you a try-out this morning. All hands line up for dotter practice."
"What's dotter practice?" asked Sam.
"Sh-h-h," warned Dan. "Haven't you learned what that is yet?"
"No."
"Dotter practice is target work in miniature. Listen! The gun captain is going to explain it to us."
"Some of you understand the dotter," began the gun captain. "For the benefit of those of you who do not I will explain. The dotter is a little contrivance on the gun, which enables you to shoot at a target and proves your marksmanship. By looking through the finder you will see a little target that moves up and down like a ship at sea. When the crossed wires of your finder are right on the target you pull the trigger. A black spot will appear on the target—a dot, showing where your shot struck if you have hit the target at all. We call it a dotter because it makes a dot where it hits."
"And the dotter makes you dotty," muttered Sam under his breath, yet loudly enough so that the man next to him heard it. The fellow laughed aloud, bringing down a sharp rebuke from the gun captain.
"Hickey, try your hand at the dotter."