took his position behind the bow again, peering at the target. Then he flipped up a flat piece of wood on the side of the weapon, marked with a distance scale. He pointed to the first mark and turned to the watching Herons.
“This indicates a range of one hundred meters,” he said. “When I line this mark up with the bead of the foresight, I have the right elevation for the shot.”
The boys leaned forward to peer at the weapon and they saw a wooden pin, surmounted by a small white bead, set ahead of the limbs, just clear of the line of flight that the projectile would follow.
“That’s like the sight on your small crossbow,” Stig said, recognizing the system.
“That’s right. I figured if it worked there, it’d work here. And it does.”
He crouched and concentrated once more on the sighting picture. He saw the bead of the foresight was in line with the target, but a little below the graduated mark on the rear sight. His hand went to the wooden cogwheel the boys had noticed earlier and he wound it slowly. The front of the crossbow began to rise as he did so. Then he stopped, checked once more and nodded to himself.
He picked up the heavy projectile that was lying on the ground beside him and set it in the shallow trough cut into the top of the bow, fitting a notch at its end into the thick cord.
“Stand clear,” he warned them, and pulled the trigger lanyard. It tripped the latch holding the string, and a fraction of a second later, there was a massive crash as the limbs released. The entire bow bucked with the recoil and the heavy projectile shot away on its shallow, curving trajectory.
Initially startled by the noise when the bow released, the crew followed the bolt’s flight with their eyes. A second later, they saw the target shudder under a massive impact. A cloud of wood splinters were hurled into the air and they heard the cracking sound of breaking timber. The pole holding the target lurched drunkenly to one side and the target itself hung loose on an angle, swinging back and forth from the force of the impact.
“No wonder it goes off line when you shoot it,” Stig muttered.
Hal didn’t reply. “Ingvar!” he called, and the giant boy steppedforward, seized the two cocking levers and heaved the string back onto its retaining latch. Hal placed another bolt onto the string, then crouched behind the sights. Ingvar had already retrieved his lever and he began to traverse the bow in accordance with Hal’s orders.
“Right!” Hal commanded and, as Ingvar began to heave the crossbow round to the right to line up with the second target, he continued in a singsong tone.
“Right… right… right… easy now. A little right. A little more. A little more. Stop!”
His arm flew up in a signal to stop. Ingvar laid the pole aside and stood by as Hal wound the elevation wheel and the front of the bow came farther and farther up. Hal peered at the sights, made another small upward adjustment.
“Stand clear!” he called. He pulled the trigger again.
Once more, there was the massive crash of wood on wood, and once more, the crossbow bucked with the recoil. This time, the watchers could follow the flight of the projectile more easily, as it flew through a greater distance and with a slightly higher arc of flight.
The second target lurched under the impact and there was a splintering sound as more wood fragments flew. This time, however, the impact was slightly off center and the target was wrenched bodily from the support pole.
The watching crew members cheered at the sight. Nothing like a little wanton destruction to get boys excited, Thorn thought, smiling to himself. But, at the same time, he felt like joining them. Hal had come up with a fearsome weapon in this giant crossbow.If they caught up with Zavac and the
Raven
, the pirates were in for a very nasty surprise.
Hal was smiling, relieved that the demonstration had gone so well. Stig stepped forward and slapped him on the
“This indicates a range of one hundred meters,” he said. “When I line this mark up with the bead of the foresight, I have the right elevation for the shot.”
The boys leaned forward to peer at the weapon and they saw a wooden pin, surmounted by a small white bead, set ahead of the limbs, just clear of the line of flight that the projectile would follow.
“That’s like the sight on your small crossbow,” Stig said, recognizing the system.
“That’s right. I figured if it worked there, it’d work here. And it does.”
He crouched and concentrated once more on the sighting picture. He saw the bead of the foresight was in line with the target, but a little below the graduated mark on the rear sight. His hand went to the wooden cogwheel the boys had noticed earlier and he wound it slowly. The front of the crossbow began to rise as he did so. Then he stopped, checked once more and nodded to himself.
He picked up the heavy projectile that was lying on the ground beside him and set it in the shallow trough cut into the top of the bow, fitting a notch at its end into the thick cord.
“Stand clear,” he warned them, and pulled the trigger lanyard. It tripped the latch holding the string, and a fraction of a second later, there was a massive crash as the limbs released. The entire bow bucked with the recoil and the heavy projectile shot away on its shallow, curving trajectory.
Initially startled by the noise when the bow released, the crew followed the bolt’s flight with their eyes. A second later, they saw the target shudder under a massive impact. A cloud of wood splinters were hurled into the air and they heard the cracking sound of breaking timber. The pole holding the target lurched drunkenly to one side and the target itself hung loose on an angle, swinging back and forth from the force of the impact.
“No wonder it goes off line when you shoot it,” Stig muttered.
Hal didn’t reply. “Ingvar!” he called, and the giant boy steppedforward, seized the two cocking levers and heaved the string back onto its retaining latch. Hal placed another bolt onto the string, then crouched behind the sights. Ingvar had already retrieved his lever and he began to traverse the bow in accordance with Hal’s orders.
“Right!” Hal commanded and, as Ingvar began to heave the crossbow round to the right to line up with the second target, he continued in a singsong tone.
“Right… right… right… easy now. A little right. A little more. A little more. Stop!”
His arm flew up in a signal to stop. Ingvar laid the pole aside and stood by as Hal wound the elevation wheel and the front of the bow came farther and farther up. Hal peered at the sights, made another small upward adjustment.
“Stand clear!” he called. He pulled the trigger again.
Once more, there was the massive crash of wood on wood, and once more, the crossbow bucked with the recoil. This time, the watchers could follow the flight of the projectile more easily, as it flew through a greater distance and with a slightly higher arc of flight.
The second target lurched under the impact and there was a splintering sound as more wood fragments flew. This time, however, the impact was slightly off center and the target was wrenched bodily from the support pole.
The watching crew members cheered at the sight. Nothing like a little wanton destruction to get boys excited, Thorn thought, smiling to himself. But, at the same time, he felt like joining them. Hal had come up with a fearsome weapon in this giant crossbow.If they caught up with Zavac and the
Raven
, the pirates were in for a very nasty surprise.
Hal was smiling, relieved that the demonstration had gone so well. Stig stepped forward and slapped him on the
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