I have not drawn string for two weeks, but I may be able
to show ye how such shots should be made." He loosened his
long-bow, slung his quiver round to the front, and then glanced
keenly round for a fitting mark. There was a yellow and withered
stump some way off, seen under the drooping branches of a lofty
oak. The archer measured the distance with his eye; and then,
drawing three shafts, he shot them off with such speed that the
first had not reached the mark ere the last was on the string.
Each arrow passed high over the oak; and, of the three, two stuck
fair into the stump; while the third, caught in some wandering
puff of wind, was driven a foot or two to one side.
"Good!" cried the north countryman. "Hearken to him lads! He is
a master bowman. Your dad says amen to every word he says."
"By my hilt!" said Aylward, "if I am to preach on bowmanship, the
whole long day would scarce give me time for my sermon. We have
marksmen in the Company who will notch with a shaft every
crevice and joint of a man-at-arm's harness, from the clasp of
his bassinet to the hinge of his greave.
Pages:
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142