What with river thieves, and dacoits, and wild tribes--to say nothing of wild beasts--a man who travels about, as I do, wants to be able to shoot straight.

The straighter you shoot, the less likely you are to have to do so.

I have come to be a good shot myself and, whenever we row up a river, I constantly practise--either at floating objects in the water, or at birds or other marks in the trees.

I have the best weapons that money can buy.

It is my one extravagance, and the result is that, to my boatmen and the men about me, my shooting seems to be marvellous; they tell others of it, and the result is that I am regarded with great respect.