Read Online Like A Hole In The Head by James Hadley Chase - Free Book Online Page A

me."
         "I'm no good at it. I don't think . . . I think we should wait for Mr. Benson."
         "You must be better with it than I am. I'm not going to wait. I'm going to try. What do I do?"
    "You'd better not."
    "I'm going to."
         Lucy had never fired a rifle. She might kill him. He might kill her. I started forward, then stopped. She was handling him better than I could. This was a risk that might pay off.
         I heard him say, "Wait! You're holding it too loosely. You must hold it hard against your shoulder. The recoil can hurt if you don't. Don't you think we'd better wait . . ."
         "Like this?"
         "Harder against your shoulder. Lucy, please . . . you shouldn't . . ."
         Then the rifle went off. I heard Lucy squeal.
         "It hurt!" She was all feminine now.
         "You've hit the target!" His high-pitched voice showed his excitement. "Look !"
         "I meant to." A pause. "It's not bad, is it for a first shot. Now, you try."
         "I'm no good at it."
         "Tim Savanto ! If you can't do better than me you should be ashamed." She was laughing at him and her voice offered a feminine challenge.
         "I don't like guns."
         "I'm going to try again."
         A long pause, then the rifle cracked.
         "Oh !"
    "You let the sight drop as you fired. I saw it. Let me try."
         "I bet you don't do any better." There was a friendly jeer in her voice. "I bet you a nickel. Are you on?"
         "I'm on."
         Again there was a long pause, then the rifle barked.
         "Oh, you stinker !" Lucy's voice was indignant. "You said you couldn't shoot ! You've stolen my nickel!"
         "I'm sorry." He was actually laughing. "It was a fluke. Forget the bet ! I wouldn't have paid if I had lost . . . honest."
         I decided it was time to walk in on this scene. I backed off silently, then started to the gallery whistling softly to herald my approach.
         I entered the gallery. The moment I walked in, I felt the relaxed atmosphere change. Timoteo was holding the rifle. At the sight of me, he became transfixed. Fear jumped into his eyes and he looked like a dog expecting to be kicked. Lucy was sitting on one of the benches, her face a little flushed, her eyes sparkling. When she saw me, the sparkle died and she looked hopefully at me as if asking for my approval.
         "What goes on?" I asked, grinning at her and I was conscious my grin was a little fixed. "Don't tell me you've been shooting."
         She played up to me, but it didn't quite jell.
         "Of course . . . and I've hit the target. You're not the only shot around here, Mr. Big-shot. Look . .
         Ignoring Timoteo, I looked at the distant target. There was a hole on the outer ring and another hole by the outer bull.
         "Hey . . . hey ! That's shooting," I said. "The inner's a good one !"
         "You would say that ! You men stick together. That's his. Mine's the outer one." Even to me the dialogue sounded terrible. I turned to Timoteo and grinned at him.
         "You see? It's not so tough, is it? That's a good start. Go ahead. We have all the ammunition in the world." I turned to Lucy. "I've got a gun that'll fit you. Do you want to shoot with him?"
         She hesitated, then nodded.
         I went over to the gun case, unlocked it and took out a gun that Nick Lewis lent to his lady pupils. I loaded it and handed it to Lucy.
         "Hang on a minute, you two. I'll put up new targets. Get off fifty rounds. Okay?"
         Timoteo looked like a rabbit about to bolt. I took no notice. Leaving them I went out into the sun and put up new targets.
         "Okay, you two," I called. "I'm going back to the bungalow. I've letters to write. When I come back, I want to see these targets in bits."
         I grinned towards them, waved to them, then I headed back to the bungalow.
         I went straight to the