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.”
COCKNEY GERMAN
He was a shining light of the Intelligence Corps, and before he arrived at Swakopmund his abilities as a linguist were spoken of with bated breath. To him there came his captain.
“Glad you’ve come, Jones,” said he; “we need a man who speaks German. Take a file and go down and tell that officer we made a prisoner yesterday that I’ll give him parole, but if he attempts to escape he’ll be shot.”
Off marched Jones, full of the importance of his task.