more than an inch distant from the mark, and one--fired

by Joe Blunt--entered the tree close beside it.

"Ah, Joe!" said the major, "I thought you would

have carried off the prize."

"So did not I, sir," returned Blunt, with a shake of

his head. "Had it a-bin a half-dollar at a hundred

yards, I'd ha' done better, but I never

could

hit the nail.

It's too small to