Terry suggested that he bring down another one that the comparison might be made as to the size and exact color to settle the question as to whether they were all of the same kind.

"See here, my friend," said one of the gentlemen on the deck, "I'll lay fifty dollars down here which says that you can't bring down another one in fifty shots."

"What!" Terry exclaimed, "do you mean to say that I can't bring down another with fifty shots?"

"That's just what I do, sir."

"Well, you are a very foolish man, if you will excuse the expression."

"Oh, I'll excuse that," said the man, "but I mean just what I say. If you had a shotgun I wouldn't make the bet, but with your revolver you couldn't hit another bird on the wing in fifty shots, and if you want to cover the bet I'll double it with pleasure."

"Do you mind my asking you another question?" Terry inquired.

"No; ask as many as you please."

"Well, I would like to know how much money you have with you."

"Oh, I've got enough to pay all I lose betting on your marksmanship. If you want to make the bet a hundred, or two hundred, or five hundred, show your money and I'll cover it."

"My friend, I really don't want your money, but I will make it five hundred dollars just to show you how foolish you are to make a bet of that kind with a stranger. Probably if you knew me you wouldn't make such an offer."

"Never mind who you are, I'm betting on the marksmanship," and the fellow drew a big roll of money from his pocket and began to count it to the amount of five hundred dollars.

"All right," and Terry proceeded to count out five hundred dollars which he asked the young lady from New Orleans to hold for him, saying that she would be his stake holder.

"Oh, my! What if I run away with it?"

"Oh, I'll take the chances of it," laughed Terry.

CHAPTER III.

HOW FRED, TERRY AND EVELYN RETURNED TO TEXAS.

The other pa.s.senger also handed his roll of bills to Miss Elon, and, looking at Terry, said:

"Now, go ahead."

"Wait a few moments," said Terry, "until one flies over the deck, so that he will drop down in order that the ladies may examine his wings."

"All right; take your time," and, while he was standing around waiting he asked the young lady who was holding the money who the young man was.

"Why, he is Mr. Olcott. Haven't you heard of him?"

"No, I never did. At least not that I can remember."

The young lady seemed to be quite surprised, and asked him if he had ever heard of Fred Fearnot.

"Oh, yes, I've heard of him in the public press many a time."

"Well, Mr. Olcott is Mr. Fearnot's partner, and they are both said to be the best shots in the United States."

The fellow looked straight at Terry as if trying to size him up. He hadn't really ever heard of Olcott to his recollection but shooting a gull on the wing with a revolver was such an extraordinary feat that he was willing to take the chances. He had seen him bring down one gull and like the majority of men who take chances, decided that it was impossible for it to be done very often.

By and by he looked up and saw a gull sailing over the deck and sung out:

"There's a good shot. Try him."

Terry raised his gun and fired so quickly that none of the spectators thought that he had even taken aim. The bullet struck the gull squarely in the breast, and, of course, the bird came tumbling down right into the group of pa.s.sengers.

Exclamations of surprise burst from nearly every man on the deck.

The loser didn't seem to care anything about his loss, so Fred end Terry sized him as a professional gambler.

"Would you like to try another shot?" Terry asked.

"Well, no; not at that price."

"Well, I'll give you odds of two to one."

"No, I've got enough," was the reply, and Terry laughed rather sarcastically.

"I'll give you odds of a hundred to one," Terry said.

"Great Scott!" exclaimed another pa.s.senger. "Will you give me such odds, mister?"

"Yes if this gentleman refuses."

"All right, I refuse," said the gentleman who had lost.

"Then I'll take it and put up a hundred dollars," said the second man.

"Well, that calls for ten thousand from me," replied Terry, and again he waited for a good shot.

Finally another gull came flying over, about twice as high as the first two.

Terry was going to wait for another chance, when the bettor angrily exclaimed that he must want a bird to alight on the muzzle of his revolver.

"Why, surely you don't expect to have me shoot at a bird that is really out of range, do you?"

"No, but that wasn't out of range."

"My friend, you don't know anything about distance on either land or water. That gull is at least a hundred yards above us," and nearly every man on the deck agreed with Terry, but the bettor became rather sarcastic and asked if he expected the bird to knock his hat off with one of its wings.

"Here comes another one," sung out somebody, and, looking up, they saw another gull about the same height from the deck. The bettor remarked:

"Oh, he's too high."