His
little disease was chronic, it is true, and it was growing upon
him; but it was, so far, a pleasant ailment.
And so, with as much interest in bows and arrows and targets
and successful shots as any of us, he never fitted an arrow to a
string, nor drew a bow. But he attended every meeting, settling
disputed points (for he studied all the books on archery),
encouraging the disheartened, holding back the eager ones who
would run to the targets as soon as they had shot, regardless of
the fact that others were still shooting and that the human body
is not arrow-proof, and shedding about him that general aid and
comfort which emanates from a good fellow, no matter what he may
say or do.
There were persons--outsiders--who said that archery clubs
always selected ladies for their presiding officers, but we did
not care to be too much bound down and trammelled by customs and
traditions. Another club might not have among its members such a
genial elderly gentleman who owned a village green.
I soon found myself greatly interested in archery, especially
when I succeeded in planting an arrow somewhere within the
periphery of the target, but I never became such an enthusiast in
bow-shooting as my friend Pepton.
If Pepton could have arranged matters to suit himself, he
would have been born an archer. But as this did not happen to
have been the case, he employed every means in his power to
rectify what he considered this serious error in his
construction.
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