If he is a good snap shot with a gun, he is sure to shoot quickly enough.
Show him that keeping his arm straight corresponds to keeping the left arm well out in shotgun shooting.
Tell him that “attention, feu!” will first be said by the master of the duel, just as “Are you ready? pull!” are said in pigeon shooting, but that it will be a “no bird” if he lifts his pistol before the word “un,” or if he fires after “trois,” his adversary being considered “out of bounds” at the word “trois.”
Load the pistol and hand it to him, and tell him to cock it.
See that he is standing with the butt properly against his thigh.
Say “attention, feu!”—with a good interval apart, then sharply “un, deux, trois.”
He is almost certain to hit the figure, and well before the word “trois.”
Say, “I knew you would find it very easy,” and take him away at once: do not on any account let him have another shot.
This one successful shot is all that is necessary, even for an expert duellist before a duel.
If your pupil should miss, explain to him his fault, and chaff him as to his inability to hit a “sitter.” Above all do not let him get to aiming.