By his own request Walter came first.  Whatever may have been his feelings of annoyance or reluctance up to this time, they were now completely swallowed up in the excitement of the moment and the desire to maintain the high reputation he had previously gained.  So he threw his whole soul into the contest, and with steady eye and unwavering hand pointed his rifle towards the target.  Bang! a cloud of smoke.  Well shot! the bullet had struck the target, but not very near the centre.  A second and third were equally but not more successful.  The fourth struck the bull's-eye, the fifth the ring next it, and the sixth the bull's-eye again.  Bravo! shouted the excited crowd; would any one beat that?  Forward now came a sober-looking young man, and did his best, but this was far short of what Walter had achieved.  Two others followed with no better success.  Then came one who handled his gun very carefully, and took his aims with great deliberation.  Three shots in the bull's-eye! here was a winner--would any one come up to him?  Four more came forward, and two of these again scored three shots in the bull's-eye.  And now the rough-looking man, who had excited the general mirth of the crowd on his arrival, took his stand opposite the target. He gazed at it a full minute before raising his piece.  There was a derisive titter throughout the spectators as at last he did so in an awkward style, and with a queer twist of his mouth.  The next moment he was rigid as a statue cut out of stone.  Flash! bang! the bull's-eye; again the bull's-eye; two more very near it; twice again the bull's-eye. So he has made the best score after all.  "I thought so," he cried, with a swaggering toss of his head and a jaunty whistle, and then with a flourish of his rifle high in air he strode back into the midst of the onlookers.  Thus there were four of the competitors who had outdone Walter in the firing at the mark.