SOMETHING ABOUT TOM BIGDEN AND HIS COUSINS.
MOUNT AIRY, the village in which Joe Wayring and Roy Sheldon lived, was
situated a few miles away from a large city which, for want of a better
name, we will call New London. It was so far distant from the city that
it could not properly be spoken of as one of its suburbs, and yet the
railroad brought the village so near to it that a good many men who did
business in New London, Joe’s father and Roy’s among the number, had
their homes there. It was a veritable “hide and seek town”. Sometimes,
as you were approaching it on the cars, you would see it very plainly,
and then again you wouldn’t. It was nestled in among high mountains, and
in the woods which covered them from base to summit could be found an
abundance of small game, such as hares, squirrels and grouse, that
afforded sport to the local Nimrods, and even received attention from
the New London gunners. It was surrounded by a perfect network of
babbling trout brooks, and there were several lakes and ponds in the
vicinity in which some of the finest fish in the world awaited the lure
of the skillful angler. And it required skill to take them, too. They
were shy of strangers, and it wasn’t every body who could go out in the
morning and come back at night with a full creel.
Nor was larger game wanting to tempt the hunter who plumed himself on
being a good shot with the rifle. Visitors standing upon the veranda of
the principal hotel in the village had often heard wolves howling in the
mountains, and on more than one occasion a deer had been seen standing
on the opposite shore of Mirror Lake (it was generally called Wayring’s
Lake, because Joe’s father owned the land on all sides of it), regarding
with much curiosity the evidences of civilization that had sprung up on
the other side. More than that, a bear was expected to make his
appearance at least once every season; and when word was passed that he
was in sight, what a hubbub it created among the visiting sportsmen! How
prompt they were to seize their guns and run out after him, and how sure
they were to come back empty-handed! Uncle Joe used to say that he
believed the managers of the hotels would close their doors against the
man who was lucky enough to shoot that bear, for unless Bruin had a
companion to take his place, his death would spoil their advertisements.
For years the proprietor of the Mount Airy House had been accustomed to
tell the public, through the New London papers, that bear could be seen
from the piazza of his hotel, and the announcement had brought him many
a dollar from sportsmen who came from all parts of the country to shoot
that bear. Why didn’t Uncle Joe shoot him? He owned the hotel.
We have said that Mount Airy was acquiring some fame as a
watering-place; but that must not lead you to infer that it was like
other places of resort—lively enough in summer, but very dull in winter,
for such was by no means the case. The village was lively at all seasons
of the year. Of course there were many more people there in summer than
there were in winter, for during warm weather the hotels and all the
boarding houses were crowded with visitors, and so were the cottages on
the other side of the lake; but when these visitors went away, the
citizens did not hibernate like so many woodchucks and wait for them to
come back, because they were not dependent upon tourists either for
their livelihood or for means of entertainment. Strangers were
astonished when they found what a driving, go-ahead sort of people they
were. They were proud of their village, of its churches, its hotels, its
fine private residences, and its high-school was so well and favorably
known that it attracted students from all parts of the country. It could
boast of an efficient fire department, composed of all the leading men
in town (the ministers and teachers, to a man, belonged to it), a
military company which formed a part of the National Guard of the State,
and a band of archers known as the Mount Airy Toxophilites. We ought,
rather, to say that there were _two_ bands of archers, one being
composed of boys and girls, and the other of their fathers, mothers and
older brothers and sisters. They were both uniformed, but the boy
members of the Toxophilites were the only ones who ever paraded.
It was worth a long journey to see these forty young archers turn out
and march through the streets to the music of the band. They looked as
neat in their green and white suits, with short top boots, and black
hats turned up at one side and fastened with a black feather, as the
military company did in their blue uniforms and white helmets: and as
for their marching, it was nearly perfect. They had a manual of arms
which originated with Uncle Joe, who, for more than a year, acted as
their instructor and drill-master. They were governed by a constitution
and by-laws, and fines were imposed upon those who did not turn out
regularly to the drills and parades. They had shooting matches at which
prizes were distributed, also a grand annual hunt, followed by a dinner
that was equally grand; and every year some of the boys spent a week or
two camping in the mountains, taking bows and arrows with them instead
of guns. A good many of the young archers were very fine shots with
these novel weapons, and there were about half a dozen of them, of whom
Joe and Roy made two, who stood ready at any time to meet an equal
number of riflemen at the trap, the archers shooting at twelve yards
rise and the riflemen at twenty.
On the morning of July 4, 18—, a large party of newly-arrived visitors
were seated on the wide veranda of the Mount Airy House, enjoying the
refreshing breeze that came to them from over the lake, and
congratulating themselves on having left the city, with all its dust,
heat and noise, behind them for one good long month at least. Some of
these visitors had never been there before, and consequently they knew
little or nothing about the village and its inhabitants. Among these
were Tom Bigden and his two cousins, Ralph and Loren Farnsworth, who
were leaning over the railing, fanning their flushed faces with their
hats, and wondering how in the world they were going to put in four
weeks’ time in that desolate town. They were city boys, any body could
see that, and they were disappointed, and angry as well, because their
parents had not decided to spend a portion of the summer at some place
convenient to salt water, so that they could enjoy a dip in the surf now
and then.
“I see a boat down there,” observed Loren. “I wonder if we could hire it
for an hour or two? I think I should like to take a sail on that lake,
it looks so cool and inviting.”
“Humph!” exclaimed Tom. “I’d much rather take a run up to Newport or
over to Greenbush in my father’s yacht.”
“I wouldn’t,” answered Loren. “I can go down to the Sound any day, but a
gem of a lake like this is something I haven’t feasted my eyes upon in a
long time. I am going to see if I can hire a boat; and after I get tired
of sailing around in her, I’m going to lie to under the shade of some
tree that hangs over the water, and be as lazy as I know how. That’s
what I came up here for.”
“Boom!” said a field-piece, from some distant part of the village.
“What was that?” exclaimed Ralph. “A cannon?”
“Naw,” replied Tom, in a tone which implied that he had no patience with
any one who could ask such a question. “What would a cannon be doing up
here in the woods? Do you think these greenhorns are going to try to get
up a celebration for our benefit?”
“No, I don’t; but they’ve got up one for their own. Do you hear that?”
answered Ralph, as the warning roll of a drum, followed by the music of
a band, rang out on the air. “The procession, or whatever it is, is
coming this way, too. Now I shall expect to see something that will
eclipse any thing New London ever thought of getting up.”
It wasn’t a celebration; it was only the annual review of the Mount Airy
fire department, which was always held on the Fourth of July. Ralph and
his cousins were fully prepared to make all sorts of fun of it, but when
the head of the procession came into view around the corner of the
street below, they were so surprised at the size of it that they had not
a word to say. It took up the whole width of the street, and that it was
determined to have all the room it wanted, was made plain by the actions
of a couple of mounted policemen who rode in front to clear the way.
“That’s good marching, boys,” said Loren, who had seen so much of it in
New London that he thought himself qualified to judge. “It is a very
creditable display for so small a place as this.”
“Every body seems to think it’s going to be something grand,” sneered
Tom, who was really amazed at the rapidity with which the spacious
veranda was filled by the guests, who came pouring out of the wide doors
in a steady stream.
“Why, there’s a military company in line with the firemen—two of them,”
exclaimed Ralph.
“Visiting companies, no doubt,” said Tom, “and that’s what makes every
one so anxious to see them.”
“There’s where you are wrong, Tom,” said Mr. Farnsworth, who,
approaching them unobserved, had heard every word of their conversation.
“You never saw a parade just like this, and I don’t believe you will
ever see another unless your father and I carry out some plans we have
been talking about, and come up here to live.”
“To live?” echoed Tom.
“Up here in the woods?” cried Ralph.
“Among all these country greenhorns!” chimed in Loren.
“You will find very few country greenhorns in Mount Airy,” said Mr.
Farnsworth, with a laugh. “Why, boys, those fire companies represent
millions of New London’s business capital.”
“Oh!” said Tom.
“Ah!” said Ralph.
“That makes the thing look different,” added Loren. “I supposed that
they were made up of the same material we used to find in the old
volunteer organizations.”
“By no means. They are all rich and intelligent men. They own valuable
property here, and by taking an interest in their fire department, they
get their insurance at much lower rates than we do in the city.”
The near approach of the column put a stop to the conversation. First
came the drum-major, a big six-footer, with a high bear-skin cap, which
made him look a great deal taller than he really was, and behind him the
band, which discoursed as fine music as any body wanted to hear. Then
came the hook and ladder company, two hundred strong, marching four
abreast and drawing their heavy truck after them without the least
apparent exertion. Next came a steam fire engine, drawn by men instead
of horses, after that a hose cart, followed by a small company of about
twenty young fellows in black dress-coats and white trowsers and caps,
who pulled along something that looked like a skeleton road wagon,
loaded with Babcock fire extinguishers.
“That’s a little the queerest looking turn-out I ever saw,” Tom
remarked. “_They_ couldn’t do any thing toward putting out a fire. I
suppose they are more for show than any thing else.”
“Wrong again,” said Mr. Farnsworth. “They have done good work, and the
citizens, in recognition of their services, presented them with money
enough to build an engine house for themselves, and furnish it in fine
style.”
Next came the soldiers, veterans, every one of them, and behind them a
company of oddly uniformed youngsters, whose movements were governed by
the blast of a bugle instead of the word of command. They must have been
the ones the guests were waiting for, for when they came in sight, and,
following the movements of the military company, executed the maneuver:
“Platoons right front into line,” which they did with as much
soldier-like precision as the veterans themselves, the gentlemen on the
veranda cheered them lustily, while the ladies waved their handkerchiefs
and bombarded the ranks with bouquets, which were deftly caught by the
boys, and impaled upon the ends of their long bows.
“Now, then, can any body tell me who and what those fellows are?”
exclaimed Ralph.
“They are the Mount Airy Toxophilites,” replied Mr. Farnsworth.
“Lovers of a bow or arrow,” said Ralph, who was well up in his Greek.
“What do they do?”
“Oh, they have regular shooting-matches, drills and parades, and now and
then a hunt and a camp in the woods.”
“They can’t hit any thing with those bows, of course.”
“Yes, I believe they can,” replied Mr. Farnsworth. “I am told that when
they go on a hunt, they are as sure of coming back full-handed as those
who use guns. After passing in review before the trustees, they are to
have a drill in the park. I see that a good many of the guests are
getting ready to go down, and if you would like to see it, we will go
also.”
Tom and his cousins had found reason to change some of their opinions
during the last few minutes, and that was just what Mr. Farnsworth
desired. He had talked with that very end in view—to make them see that
New London was not the only place in the world in which boys could enjoy
themselves, and to prepare them for the change which he and his
brother-in-law, Tom’s father, intended to make that very summer. They
were anxious to get their boys away from New London, for it was full of
temptations which Tom and his cousins found it hard to resist. They were
learning to think more of billiards than they did of their books, and
they had even been known to roll ten-pins for soda water. Soda water
wasn’t hurtful, and neither were ten-pins nor billiards; but the
conditions under which the one was imbibed and the others played
certainly were. In Mount Airy there was none of that sort of thing. Of
course there were billiard rooms and ten-pin alleys there, but they
belonged to the hotels, and were kept for the exclusive use of the
guests. The men who had just marched up the street owned all the land
for miles around, and they would not sell a foot of it. They were
willing to lease it for a term of years, but before they did so, they
wanted to know all about the man who applied for the lease, and the
business he intended to follow while he remained in town. In that way
they made the society of the village just what they wanted it to be. It
is true that some objectionable characters now and then secured a
temporary foothold there, but as soon as they were detected, they were
“bounced” without ceremony.
Mr. Farnsworth and Mr. Bigden thought Mount Airy would be just the place
for their boys, but the latter would have raised the most decided
objections if the subject of a change of residence had been broached to
them before they witnessed that parade, and learned something about the
men and boys who composed it.
“I’ll tell you what’s a fact!” said Tom, as he and his cousins walked
with Mr. Farnsworth toward the park where the drill was to be held.
“Uncle Alfred was right when he said that we would not find many country
bumpkins here. Those bowmen must have lots of fun. Do you and father
really intend to come here to live?” he added, turning to Mr.
Farnsworth.
“We have been thinking and talking about it for a long time,” was the
answer.
“All right. I am in favor of it,” said Tom. “I wonder if we could get
into that company of archers!”
“Of course we could,” said Loren.
“There’s no ‘of course’ about it,” answered his father. “You would be
balloted for the same as the rest; and I have been told that one
black-ball would keep you out for a year.”
“Humph!” exclaimed Tom. “They wouldn’t black-ball _us_. I guess our
folks have just as much money as any body here.”
“No, they haven’t; and even if they had, it would make no sort of
difference. Money doesn’t rule the world up here as it does down in New
London. I am informed that some of the boys in that company are so poor
that the others had to help them buy their uniforms.”
“Humph!” said Tom. “Well, if that’s the sort of trash they take into
their company, I don’t know that I care to belong to it, do you, boys?
We don’t have any thing to do with such fellows in the city.”
“Couldn’t we gradually weed them out?” asked Loren. “That’s the way we
did with our ball club, you know.”
“Yes, and what was the consequence?” demanded his father. “You ‘weeded
out’ your very best players, and you have been beaten by every club you
have met since. Served you right, too.”
“Well, I would rather be beaten than be chums with fellows who were too
mean to chip in two or three dollars when we wanted to get up a dinner,”
observed Loren.
“They were not too mean; they couldn’t do it. The two or three dollars
that you speak of so lightly, were a large sum in the eyes of boys whose
fathers gain a livelihood by working by the day, and you ought to have
exercised a little common sense in your dealings with them. If it were
necessary that you should have the dinner or starve, why did you not pay
for it yourselves, and not ask those poor boys to ‘chip in’, as you term
it? There’s the high school,” said Mr. Farnsworth, pointing with his
cane to an imposing building, standing in the midst of extensive and
well-kept grounds which occupied one whole block of the village
property.
“That’s my great objection to Mount Airy,” said Ralph, shaking his fist
at the school house. “Our teacher told us one day last term that the
binomial theorem is just the same in China and Brazil that it is in New
London, so I suppose it must be the same up here. Fine scenery around a
school house doesn’t make the lessons inside any easier.”
“You’re right there,” growled Tom, who was thinking of those Orations of
Cicero to which he would have to devote his attention next term, “I’d
much rather go fishing.”
The boys reached the park long before the procession did, and took up a
position near the pagoda in which the president of the village and the
trustees were to stand while the line passed in review. When it arrived,
the band led the way around the park until it met the advancing column;
then it turned inside of it and went around again, and thus the whole
line, with the exception of the Toxophilites, was wound up like a coil.
The archers kept straight ahead, the boys in the ranks carrying arms,
and the captain saluting by bringing his bow to a position that somewhat
resembled the “secure arms” of the tactics, until they reached a clear
space at the other end of the park which had been reserved on purpose
for them. There they halted, and, when the firemen had broken ranks, and
the soldiers had been brought to parade rest, their commanding officer
put them through the manual of arms and some intricate evolutions in the
school of the company, giving his orders to the bugler who stood beside
him, and not to the company itself. Ralph and Loren were delighted with
every thing they saw, and had many words of praise to bestow upon the
young bowmen; but Tom was silent and sullen. He didn’t like to hear so
much cheering when none of it was intended for him. When he was engaged
in a game of ball he always flew into a passion if he made an error, or
if any of the other side made a play that called forth applause from the
spectators. He was angry now; but it would have puzzled a sensible boy
to tell what reason he had for it.
“That captain, or whatever you call him—” began Loren.
“Master bowman,” said his father.
“Well, he is a nobby fellow, and that bugler looks gorgeous in his green
uniform with its white facings,” continued Loren. “I wonder who they
are, any way?”
“Why don’t you go and inquire?” asked Mr. Farnsworth.
“They wouldn’t speak to you,” snarled Tom. “They’re little upstarts; I
can tell that from here by the frills they throw on.”
Loren and his brother didn’t care if they were. The signs seemed to
indicate that they were coming to Mount Airy to live, and if that was
the case, they wanted to know something about the boys they would have
for their associates. So as soon as the drill was brought to an end and
the ranks were broken, they set out to scrape an acquaintance with the
master bowman and bugler, Tom following them with rather a listless,
indifferent air. But in reality he was as eager as his cousins were.
Would he not be willing to give something handsome if he could make
himself the leader of a select band like that?