The tide was coming in, and the sand spit on which Major Dalleson had been firing his carbine was beginning to be inundatedHe retreated a step or two as a wavelet pattered around his ankles, and then bent down to pick up another pebbleHe had been shooting pebbles for almost an hour now, and he was beginning to wearyHis large chest and belly had reddened in the sun, his body hair was slicked with perspiration, and the waist band of his cotton shorts, the only clothing he was wearing, had become quite wetHe grunted, looked at the pebbles in his hand, and selected one which he held between his forefinger and thumbThen he slumped forward like a buffalo, his head almost parallel to the sand, the muzzle of his carbine pointing vertically downward just past his toeHe bent farther forward until his head was not more than a foot from his knees, and then he straightened abruptly, chloe bag white leather padlock throwing the pebble into the air with his left hand and raising his carbine with his right armFor just an instant he caught the pebble in his rear sight, a tiny speck of dust against the blue of the sky, and then he squeezed the trigger and the pebble spattered "Goddam," Dalleson said with satisfaction, wiping the sweat from his eyes with his heavy forearm, licking the dried salt at the corners of his mouthThat pebble made four in a row he had hit He selected another one, went into his motion, threw it up, and missed this time"Well, anyway, I been hitting them about three out of five on an average," he told himselfIt was all right; he hadn't lost his eyeHe'd have to write a letter to his rifle club back in Allentown telling them about this That skeet shooting was all rightHe'd have to try it when he got backIf he could hit pebbles three out of five with a carbine, they'd have to tiffany's jewelry designs blind him before he'd miss a clay plate with a shotgunHis ear ached slightly, comfortably, from the noise of firing the carbine Conn and Dove were sporting in the water about a hundred yards away and he waved to themAnother wavelet encircled his anklesOr better than writing to the rifle club, he could send them a picture Dalleson turned around and looked over the sand at the officers playing bridge"Hey, Leach, where the hell are you?" he bellowed A tall slim officer with a lean face and silver-rimmed glasses sat up in the sand"I'm over here, Major, what do you want?" "Did you take your camera along?" Leach nodded dubiously"Well, bring it over, will ya?" Dalleson shoutedLeach was his assistant, a captain, in operations and training Dalleson grinned at him as he came overLeach was a good fellow, agreeable, did his work all right, anxious to please"Listen, Leach, I'd like ya chanel watch women to take a picture of me shooting some pebbles "It's going to be kind of hard, MajorThis's just a little ol' box camera, and it's only got a shutter speed of one-twenty-fifth of a second"Aw hell, it'll be good enough "Well, I'll tell you, Major, I'll be frank about it" -- Leach's voice was soft with a southern accent -- "I'd like to oblige you but I only have but three pictures left, and it's kinda hard to get film "I'll pay you for it," Dalleson offered "Aw, no, I wasn't thinking of that, but, well, you see --" Dalleson interrupted him"Come on, man, all I'm asking you for is a pictureWhat the hell are you gonna shoot it up of, except some of these other Joes around here?" "All right, Major"Okay, now look, Leach, what I want is for you to get out on that spit a little bit, and I want you to get me in, of course, and the jungle in back so my friends'll know where the rolex watches knock offs hell it was taken, and also I want you to get that pebble when it busts in the air Leach looked distressed"Major, you can't get all that inThat would include a ninety-degree arc, and the angle of lens of this camera isn't more than thirty-five degrees "Well, look, man, don't give me all those goddam facts and figuresIt seems to me it ain't that goddam hard to take a little picture "I might be able to take you from the back with you in the foreground and tilt the camera up so it catches the pebble, but I'll tell you, Major, it's just a waste of film because that pebble isn't even gonna register "Leach, it ain't that complicatedAll you got to do is press a damn buttonNow let's cut out all this jawing Obviously miserable, Leach squatted behind Dalleson and hopped around for a few seconds trying to find the proper angle"Will you throw a practice pebble up, Major?" Leach chanel large black tote bag aske