FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  
ing open the breech, and peeping through the barrels as if they formed a double telescope. "Oh! that's the way, is it?" he said. "But suppose, when the thing goes off, the shots should come out at this end instead of the other?" "But you don't fire it off when it's open like that, Mr Burne," cried Lawrence. "My dear boy, of course not. Do you suppose I don't understand? You put in the cartridges like this. No, they won't go in that way. You put them in like that, and then you pull the trigger." "No, no, no," cried Lawrence excitedly. "You shut the breech first." "My dear boy--oh! I see. Yes, of course. Oh! that's what you meant. Of course, of course. I should have seen that directly. Now, then, it's all right. Loaded?" "Sir! sir! sir!" cried the dealer, but he was too late, for the old lawyer had put the gun to his shoulder, pointing the barrel towards the door, and pulled both triggers. The result was a deafening explosion, two puffs of smoke half filling the place, and the old gentleman was seated upon the floor. "Good gracious, Burne!" cried the professor, rushing to him, "are you much hurt?" Lawrence caught at the chair beside him, turning ashy pale, and gazing down at the prostrate man, while quite a little crowd of people filled the shop. "Hurt?" cried Mr Burne fiercely--"hurt? Hang it, sir, do you think a man at my time of life can be bumped down upon the floor like that without being hurt?" "But are you wounded--injured?" "Don't I tell you, yes," cried Mr Burne, getting up with great difficulty. "I'm jarred all up the spinal column." "But not wounded?" "Yes, I am, sir--in my self-respect. Here, help me up. Oh, dear! Oh, lor'! Gently! Oh, my back! Oh, dear! No; I can't sit down. That's better. Ah!" "Would you like a doctor fetched?" "Doctor? Hang your doctor, sir. Do you think I've came out here to be poisoned by a foreign doctor. Oh, bless my soul! Oh, dear me! Confound the gun! It's a miserable cheap piece of rubbish. Went off in my hands. Anyone shot?" "No, sir," said the dealer quietly; "fortunately you held the muzzle well up, and the charges went out of the upper part of the door." "Oh! you're there, are you?" cried Mr Burne furiously, as he lay back in a cane chair, whose cushion seemed to be comfortable. "How dared you put such a miserable wretched piece of rubbish as that in my hands!" The dealer made a deprecatory gesture. "He
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Lawrence

 

dealer

 

doctor

 

rubbish

 

miserable

 
wounded
 

suppose

 

breech

 

jarred

 

comfortable


difficulty
 

spinal

 

respect

 

column

 

bumped

 

deprecatory

 

gesture

 
wretched
 

Gently

 

injured


Confound

 

Anyone

 

charges

 

muzzle

 

quietly

 

fortunately

 
foreign
 
fetched
 

cushion

 
Doctor

poisoned

 

furiously

 

excitedly

 
trigger
 

Loaded

 

directly

 

formed

 

double

 
telescope
 

barrels


peeping

 

understand

 

cartridges

 

caught

 

turning

 

rushing

 
gracious
 
professor
 

gazing

 

people