OFF FOR THE ENCAMPMENT
As was the usual custom at Colby Hall, all of the old officers and
those newly elected were invited to participate in a dinner given by
Captain Dale. This was held in a private dining room of the school,
and was usually a function looked forward to with much pleasure by
those to take part.
"Now we've got to look our prettiest," announced Fred to Jack. "Of
course, we'll wear our new officers' uniforms."
The dinner proved to be one long to be remembered by the two Rover
boys, and they were sorry to think the twins had not been present to
see what took place. There were some speeches and a good deal of
merrymaking, and the two Rovers were congratulated over and over again
on having been elected.
"I'm mighty glad to think you're going to be at the head of Company C,
Captain Rover," said Major Ralph Mason. "And glad, too, that your
cousin Fred is going to be a lieutenant of that company. I shall
expect great things from both of you."
"Well, I intend to do the best I can," announced Jack modestly.
There was but one drawback to the affair. Gabe Werner did not show
himself, nor did he send any letter of regret to Captain Dale.
"Gabe is sore, all right enough," declared one of the under officers.
"When I asked him if he was coming to the spread, he merely shook his
head and looked like a thundercloud."
Sunday proved rather a busy day for all of the cadets, yet the Rovers,
along with a number of others, went to Haven Point where they met some
of the girls. All attended services at one of the local churches. Then
the young folks paired off, the boys walking with the girls to
Clearwater Hall.
"Oh, Jack, you can't think how proud I am to know they have made you a
captain!" said Ruth, who was walking beside the newly-elected officer.
"And I think you ought to be very proud yourself."
"I admit it makes me feel pretty good, Ruth," he answered.
"But you'll have to be careful," went on the girl anxiously. "Randy
told me on the way to church that a cadet named Werner is very angry
because you cut him out of one of the captaincies."
"I'm not afraid of Werner or any of his crowd!"
"Yes, but he may try to make trouble, Jack. Don't forget how Brown and
Martell acted--and are acting still."
"I won't forget, Ruth." And then, making sure that none of the others
was noticing, he pressed the girl's fingers tightly within his own.
"It's awfully nice to have you so interested," he whispered. And,
although she did not answer to this, she gave him a bright look that
lingered in his memory for many a day afterward.
In the meantime Fred was walking along with May Powell, and had also
been congratulated on attaining a lieutenancy. May was full of fun,
and her eyes showed it.
"I suppose some day it will be Major Fred Rover!" she exclaimed. "My,
won't you look grand with a whole lot of gold lace, and a cockade hat,
and all that sort of thing!"
"No gold lace for mine, May!" he laughed.
Spouter and Gif were walking with Martha and Mary, and soon the whole
crowd reached Clearwater Hall. Here the boys had to say good-bye to
the girls, and this was rather a lingering process, since the young
folks did not know exactly when they would get together again.
"But don't forget we expect to march past here to-morrow morning about
ten o'clock," said Jack. "If you are really patriotic you'll be
watching for us and have your flags out."
"Don't you worry about that," answered Ruth. "We're going to ask Miss
Garwood for a special recess in honor of the occasion."
The evening was spent by the boys in packing their things and in
otherwise getting ready for the encampment. There was, however, the
usual song service at eight o'clock in the assembly room of the Hall,
on this occasion presided over by a minister who had stopped at the
Hall to visit his two nephews, who were pupils there. The minister was
a good speaker, and he made an address which the cadets listened to
with close attention.
Early in the morning came a sound that told all the cadets that the
annual encampment was now at hand. Instead of the school bell ringing,
there were the notes of two bugles ringing through the corridors. Then
from outside came the vigorous rattle of several drums.
"Hurrah! No more studying! From now on we are soldier boys!" exclaimed
Andy, and he bounced out of bed. "Get up, you sleepyheads!" And in the
exuberance of his spirits he threw a pillow at his twin's head. Randy
returned the compliment by throwing a shoe at him, hitting Andy in the
stomach.
"Hi! What's this?" exclaimed Fred, scrambling up at the confusion.
"Over the top at the Huns!" shouted Andy, charging on Randy and
sending him backward into a stand loaded with books. "Forward, the
light brigade, and on to the gas attack!"
"Hi! You fellows are making altogether too much noise," came from
Jack. "Attention, company! Line up! Eyes right!"
"My! but don't the bugles and drums sound fine?" was Fred's comment,
as he hurried into his new uniform, of which, it may be said
privately, he was exceedingly proud.
"I suppose we won't have a bit of fun at this outing, with a captain
and a lieutenant keeping their eyes on us," grumbled Andy; but, of
course, he did not mean what he said.
"Sure, I'll make you line up and toe the chalk mark," answered Jack,
with a grin. "You won't dare to call your souls your own. If you
infringe one fixed rule the sixteenth of an inch, I'll place you in
the guardhouse."
"Yes, and we'll feed you on nothing but dry bread and dry water,"
added Fred.
"Good-night!" came solemnly from Randy. "Please lead me to the
dungeon at once! What's the use of looking at the sunshine and trying
to smile!"
It had been decided that the cadets should march to Barlight Bay,
which was about thirty-five miles distant. They were to take two days
for the journey, stopping over night on the outskirts of the village
of Rackville, where Captain Dale had already rented a farm field for
that purpose. All of their belongings were to be transported in
several motor trucks, engaged for that purpose, these trucks being
under orders from the battalion quartermaster.
Of course, it must be understood by my young readers that Colby Hall
was only a military school for boys, and that the military matters
there, while conducted somewhat on the lines of those at West Point,
were by no means so strict. The officers, from the young major down,
were expected to do their duty the same as if they were at a
government camp, but all were under the supervision of Captain Dale
and the Hall professors.
More than this, the boys did not pretend to do any of the camp cooking
or any of the menial camp labor, this being accomplished by hired
helpers. And again, the officers were only officers while on parade or
during special hours of duty--otherwise they were just like the
other cadets and were treated accordingly.
There was the usual morning roll call, and also the drill and
inspection, this time the latter being unusually severe, for Captain
Dale wanted to make sure that everything was right before the cadets
left the Hall. The parade around the grounds, however, was omitted,
and the lads went in to their breakfast half an hour earlier than
usual. Then it was announced that they would leave the Hall at exactly
nine o'clock.
At the roll call and inspection it was a new thing for Jack to take
command of Company C, and for Fred to fill the position of a
lieutenant; but both acquitted themselves creditably, and for this
received a nod of approval from Captain Dale.
On Sunday evening it had been rumored about that Gabe Werner had
decided not to attend the encampment. This rumor had its foundation in
the fact that the angular ex-lieutenant had sent a telegram to his
father explaining the situation and stating he wanted to come home. In
return, however, Mr. Werner commanded his son to remain at Colby Hall,
and so, much against his will, Gabe was on hand when the cadets were
ready to march away.
"But I ain't going to do anything that I don't want to do," growled
Gabe to Bill Glutts. "You just wait and see!"
"Maybe you'll get a chance to make it warm for Jack Rover and his
bunch," suggested the wholesale butcher's son.
"You bet!" answered Werner laconically.
The cadets were all assembled on the parade ground, and the motor
trucks, piled high with all of their belongings, as well as the
camping paraphernalia, had already left the grounds. There was a final
rattle of drums to call any cadets who might still be missing.
"Battalion attention!" commanded the young major, after he had
received his orders from Captain Dale.
At once the three companies came to attention.
"Shoulder arms!" came the command a few seconds later.
"Forward--march!"
Boom! Boom! Boom, boom, boom! went the drums, and the Colby cadets
stepped off gaily, while the professors and helpers left behind at the
Hall cheered loudly and waved their hands. From the big flagstaff on
the campus floated a large American flag, this being run up every
morning at sunrise and taken down at sunset.
Soon the drums gave a preliminary rattle, and then the shrill fifes
struck up into a lively marching air, and one company after another
passed out of the Hall grounds and on to the road leading to Haven
Point.
"Hay foot, straw foot!" murmured Andy jokingly to Randy, who was
marching by his side. "I wonder how our feet will feel after we have
covered the eighteen miles we have to do to-day?"
"Oh, that will be all right, I think," answered his twin. "I've done
more than eighteen miles in a day, and so have you."
It did not take long for the cadets to reach the outskirts of Haven
Point. Their coming was expected, and quite a crowd of town folks were
out to see the parade. Some few had put out flags, for all were proud
to have such an institution as Colby Hall in that vicinity.
The moving-picture theater was decorated with flags from top to
bottom, and across the street the enterprising manager had hung a big
banner inscribed with the words:
_Good-bye
COLBY HALL
Have a good time, boys_
Captain Dale was marching beside Major Mason, and as the school came
in sight of this banner the major whispered a few words to the
elderly military man, who nodded in approval. Then the young major
turned and, walking backward, cried:
"Battalion attention! Three cheers for Mr. Felix Falstein!"
The cheers were given with a right good will, and a number of the
cadets swung their caps at the manager of the moving-picture theater,
who stood in the doorway, smiling at them. The cheer had been totally
unexpected, and Mr. Falstein grew exceedingly red in the face. But he
bowed and smiled, and kept on bowing, in the meantime waving his hat
at the cadets, until they had passed up the street.
Leaving Haven Point behind, and with a generous following of small
boys, the cadets continued their march by taking to the road leading
past Clearwater Hall. Here another surprise awaited them. The girls of
the school had strung long lines of colored paper across the roadway,
and had decorated the entire front of the school grounds with small
flags. More than this, all of the girls were out in a long line facing
the roadway, and many of them carried flags and wore red, white and
blue ribbons.
"Good-bye! Have a good time!" called out Ruth.
"Don't forget to write!" came from Martha.
"Oh, but you do look nice!" called May.
And then there was such a babble of exclamations that hardly a word of
what was said could be understood. And in the midst of this the cadets
gave a rousing cheer for Clearwater Hall and everybody connected with
that school.
"Oh, but don't they look lovely!" cried May, when the boys had passed.
"Did you see Jack at the head of the third company?" she asked of
Ruth.
"Why, of course! And he certainly looked every inch a captain."
"I wish I were a boy and could go along!" sighed Mary.
"Oh, I guess we all wish that," declared Ruth. "But come--let us give
them another cheer!" And this rent the air just as the cadets reached
a turn in the road and passed out of sight.