The Outpost Vol 1 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

THE OUTPOST.
115
I
A Visit to the Range.
When the last shot had been fired, and the
targets brought up to be examined, an eager
group gathered round the sergeant, as he
THE platoon had been marched off from the
applied the chip potato lifter to the first card.
Parade Ground to the Drill Hall to the
entire satisfaction of the officer in charge and " Verrie good! Yin at each corner and a
his satellite, the platoon sergeant. Though the miss. You should try shrapneL 'Wait and
ultimate destination of the rank and file was the shoot again, my lad."
range, a temporary p;)sition was taken up in the "Number two? That's better, ver fower
rich, undulating meadows behind the hall itself, shots all well grouped, but then ye've a miss~
for the purpose of enabling the men to have a Nothing."
little recreation in the form of bayonet fighting, " Three) All missed! Oh, aye, you wit
while their less fortunate companions were shootin' wi' blank? Wait and shoot again."
instructed in musketry. "Number four? Not bad, just missed a
The first half dozen men fell in on their right 'p;)ssible.' Twenty fur that."
marker and were soon steadily swinging along " Number five? Three hits. J tel't ye, ve
in column of route in the direction of the range, wir shootin' at the fioor~Nothing. Try again."
where a very pleasant ten minutes were spent
"'Who's is this-number six? Fine card.
in receiving final instruction in aiming and
Lovely group. Twenty-five."
'letting-off." "First pressure, three p;)unds,
Second pressure, five pounds. Total pressure, " Next six ready? Come on then, mo-o-o-ve.
five pounds!" Thus spak:; the sergeant in This is nnt a fall-oot ! "
charge of the class. Sergeants, by the way,
J. T. S.
have a wonderful piece of mechanism, called a
Slide Rule, for working out intricate calculations
such as this. "Now, in case ye don't all
understand, I'll go over it again. First
pressure, three pounds. Second pressure, five
pounds. Total pressure, five pounds." The
sergeant's instructive remarks were here
interrupted by the voice of the companysergeant-major
in charge of the shooting
accommodation.
" First six fur shootin', get fell in."
The first six were then led by devious paths,
till each man stood on the edge of the raised
platform, with a rifie on his right front, and a
copious supply of ammunition beside it. At
the word" Commence," each individual flopped
down as if he were doing an attack under the
very nose of the Brigadier-General, and took
up his rifle. After a few preliminary snaps, the
firing began in earnest. When each man had
fired cne shot, the order to "Cease fire," wc s
given, and the attendant went up to the end of
the range to rep;)rt the results of the shots.
"Miss-Miss-Miss--Outer, three o'clock­
Miss-Magpie, six o'clock." Thus ran the
scoring. 'When the marker had regained a
p:>sition of cornpara ive safety behind the firing
line, the shooting e-commenced. Occasional
clouds of dust from the floor indicated the close
proximity of some bullet's billet, and such
clouds were immediately followed bv volley
o( blank verse from the- sergeant-major. That
worthy, however, always encouraged the men
by his kindly, if sarcastic remarks.
" If ye open yer eyes, Tamson, e'll maybe
have a better chance 0' hittin' the target," or, Drawn b:I Pt•. 81,.,,11.
" Try the other end 0' yer gun, Mack."
Oh Lor'! This is more like a convulsion than a fit.