Both carried pistols, as did the groom, sitting behind them.

The Squire himself was but a poor shot, but Mark had practiced a great deal.
"'Tis a good thing to be able to shoot straight, Mark," his father had said to him three years before.

"I abhor dueling, but there is so much of it at present that any gentlemen might find himself in a position when he must either go out or submit to be considered a coward.

Then, too, the roads are infested by highwaymen.

For that reason alone it would be well that a man should be able to shoot straight.