The Luck of Thirteen - Wanderings and Flight through Montenegro and Serbia by Cora Josephine Gordon;Jan Gordon
page 52 of 311 (16%)
page 52 of 311 (16%)
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Jan climbed down the hill and took snap-shots of Gorazhda; the enemy got a couple of pretty near shots at him. When the Montenegrins thought this sport was becoming monotonous they remembered the business of the day. A big house in Gorazhda was said to be full of Hungarian officers, and they wanted to get the range of this with one of the big guns. This decision had been made a day or two before with much deliberation. This they thought the State could afford. The precious shell was brought out, and every one fondled it. Men were called out and huge preparations were made for sighting and taking aim. We scuttled round with field glasses, and finally stood on tiptoe behind branches on a mound by the side of the gun. There were many soldiers fussing in the dug-out, and at last they pulled the string. "Goodness! Now we've done it," Jo thought, as the mountains sent back the fearful report in decreasing echoes. We seemed to wait an eternity, and then "something white" happened far beyond the village. The officers looked at each other with long faces. "A bad miss--the expense." We felt the resources of the Montenegrin Empire were tottering. Awful! Could they afford another? Finally, with great courage, they decided that it was better to spend two shells on getting a decent aim than to lose one for nothing. The |
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