Chapter XXVI · TOPPLETON TRIUMPHANT.

At an early hour the next morning, Briscoe called me and the battalion was soon on its feet. At half past five we had finished breakfast, and everything was ready to embark in the steamer. Not a little to our surprise, we saw that the Wimpletonians, who were encamped near us, were under arms. Knowing that we were to leave before them, they tendered us an escort, which was gratefully accepted. We marched down to the landing-place, countermarched, presented arms, and saluted, each battalion in its turn. When we were on the promenade deck of the boat, we cheered each other with abundant good will. So far as the relations of the two Institutes were concerned, the millennium appeared to have come; for, instead of battling with each other on the slopes of the Horse Shoe, as we had done during the preceding season, we were trying to see which could outdo the other in courtesy and good feeling.

As the Ucayga did not start till three quarters of an hour later, Wolf Penniman came on board of the steamer to see us. No one could have been more delighted than he was when he saw the rival academics on such friendly terms. He declared that it did his heart good to see the sight, and that he should almost be willing to die if he could only see Colonel Wimpleton and Major Toppleton reconciled to each other.

“I have some hopes of it,” he added, “after what I have seen to-day and last evening.”

“I don’t know,” I replied, doubtfully. “They have been quarrelling for several years, and it will be hard for them to make up.”

“To brake up you mean,” added Wolf, in railroad parlance.

“Since Waddie and Tommy have both switched off, it is possible that their fathers may brake up. But how was Tommy when you left him?”

“He was quite sick. I sat with him most of the time, in my state-room, during the passage, and I was satisfied that he had indeed switched off. He confessed to me that he had been rather rough on the fellows. When the boat arrived at Centreport, he concluded to go down to Ucayga with me, and return so that I could see him home at noon. I think the events of the last few days have knocked the conceit all out of him. He is particularly grateful to you, Ned, for what you did, after he had treated you so shabbily. That’s what turns an enemy into a friend.”

“I was trying to imitate your example, Wolf, for I believe in it.”

“O, my example is nothing! So far as Waddie was concerned, I only did what my mother taught me—‘Love your enemies.’ That’s the true principle. It is hard sometimes, but it pays in the long run, or the short one either. I only hope that Tommy will do as well as Waddie has done. After we had landed our passengers at Centreport, I ran the Ucayga over to Middleport, and, procuring a carriage, conveyed Tommy to his father’s house. The family were very much alarmed about him, and sent for the physician. I shouldn’t wonder if he had a fever. I staid with him till it was time for the boat to make her afternoon trip.”

“Did you see Grace?” I asked.

“I did,” replied Wolf, blushing. “She was very grateful to us for what we had done for her brother. I shall see him again to-day noon.”

The bell rang for the departure of the boat, and Wolf hurried on shore. As the old steamer worked out from the wharf, the Wimpletonians cheered us again, and we lustily returned their parting salute. I saw Waddie in the ranks, as I had seen him several times before. He did his duty as a private, and I was told that he never even suggested any orders, much less dictated the movements of the battalion. When he was consulted, he gave his opinion freely; but he never put himself forward, and positively refused to accept any office.

Our battalion formed almost the entire company of passengers on the railroad boat. The fight between the two lines did not rage very fiercely after the first season. Major Toppleton always said he intended to do something to recover his lost ground, but he had accomplished nothing yet. He had caused a partial survey to be made for a continuation of the Lake Shore Railroad to Hitaca, but the expense of constructing the road through the wild region was too appalling even for him.

Colonel Wimpleton was waiting to see what the major intended to do. When he found that the Ucayga, working according to the plan arranged by Wolf, took the greater portion of the travel, he concluded not to build another steamer at present. The steamboat line was paying well, and another boat might carry the balance over to the other side of the ledger.

On the other hand, the Lake Shore Railroad was doing a good business with its local freight and passengers, so that the major hesitated before he embarked on a new venture. The first excitement of the competition had subsided, and I am sorry to add, that the personal habits of Colonel Wimpleton were such that he did not give much attention to business of any kind.

Our battalion landed at Gulfport, and immediately marched for Centreport, where the prize drill was to take place. At the picnic grounds we halted for rest and drill. The companies were addressed by the major and by the captains, in order to fire their zeal in the approaching friendly contest with the Wimpletonians. Our fellows drilled splendidly, and I was morally certain that we should carry off the banner. The march was resumed, and when we arrived at the entrance of the town, we were met by the Wimpletonians, who had come down from Hitaca in the Ucayga. All the courtesies we had practised before was gone through with again; and under their escort we marched to the green in front of the Wimpleton Institute, where the drill was to take place.

Already a great crowd of people from both sides of the lake had assembled to witness the show. The two battalions were dismissed for half an hour, and our new-made friends invited us to the refectory of the Institute, where a substantial collation had been provided for the contestants. The rival students mingled together in harmony, and the utmost good will prevailed. Parties on both sides declared that whatever the result of the contest, they should be satisfied; and there were not wanting those on each side who hoped that the other would win the prize.

Colonel Wimpleton was present, but Major Toppleton was detained at home by the illness of Tommy. The judges were West Pointers, having no interest in either party, and we all expected a just judgment from them. At one o’clock we formed in line, and both battalions were reviewed by Colonel Wimpleton and the judges. Then each company alternately, one from the Centreport battalion, and then one from the Middleport, was drilled separately. The Wimpletonians followed with their battalion movements, and the contest was concluded by the Toppletonians.

There were three judges, each of whom estimated the excellence of each company and each battalion on a scale of one hundred. The average of their figures, made without consultation among themselves, was taken as the mark of the company or battalion. As the Wimpleton battalion had three companies, while the other had but two, two thirds of the total of its marks were taken as its aggregate for the company drill. The results of the company and the battalion drill of each party were then added together, and the one which had the most was entitled to the banner.

The chairman of the judges, after a hollow square of both battalions had been formed, stepped forward to announce the decision. He began by commending both parties for the friendly spirit they had exhibited. He then praised the general excellence of the drill in both battalions, declaring that it would compare very favorably with that of any volunteer organization which the speaker had ever witnessed. Both sides lustily applauded this statement, and when the noise had subsided, the chairman proceeded to read the figures of the several judges. The Toppleton battalion was ninety-three, while the Wimpleton was eighty-four; and Company A of the former had the highest mark for company drill. These results decided the contest in our favor, and the banner was awarded to Toppleton by a majority of twenty-two marks.

The Wimpletonians applauded with all their might. When the result had been read, I saw Colonel Wimpleton biting his lips; but if he was disposed to indulge in any unpleasant remarks, the generous conduct of the battalion which bore his name silenced him. It was a fair thing all around; but it ought to be said in justice to the Wimpletonians, that they had many new recruits, whose clumsiness affected the general result.

Our fellows were more than satisfied: they had won the prize; but what was better, they had won the hearts of their rivals. The beginning of all this friendly feeling was the act of Briscoe in tendering the escort to the Wimpletonians. A sneer, a few hard words, or even a little coldness on our part, would have kept alive and fanned the old feeling of resentment. We had not been able to beat our rivals on the hard-fought field of the Horse Shoe, but we had conquered them with the mighty weapon of love, and our victory was complete. “Love your enemies,” Wolf would have said, if he had been there; and the blessed truth is as good for boys’ play as it is for the serious business of life.

The Wimpletonians invited us to spend the afternoon with them, and we did so. Towards night we were ferried across the lake by our friends, and everything was “lovely” to the end. As soon as our battalion landed, I hastened to the house of Major Toppleton, to see Tommy. He was really very sick; but he was glad to see me, and I told him all that had transpired since he left us. He was very sorry for the loss of Jed’s colt; but he smiled with genuine satisfaction when I told him how we had made friends of the Wimpletonians.

I could not believe he was the arrogant, conceited, tyrannical Tommy Toppleton I had known so long; but he was sick, and there was no assurance that he would not have a moral relapse when his physical health was restored. For a fortnight he did not go out of his chamber. Every day, at noon, Wolf came over to see him—and Grace. Then he began to improve, and in a short time went out. Then Wolf told him about Waddie, and the vast change which had been wrought in him; how everybody on the other side loved him, and would do anything for him; and how Ben Pinkerton had insisted upon resigning, in order that Waddie might be again elected major of the battalion.

Tommy listened to the story with deep interest. He did not say anything. He made no promises, as his rival and prototype on the other side had done; but as the months rolled on, we realized that he was another fellow. He imitated the example of Waddie, and took his place as a private in one of the companies. I shall never forget the love and devotion which his mother and Grace always manifested towards him, for he was another boy in the house as well as abroad. His father was more reserved, and said nothing; but he could not help being impressed by the altered behavior of his son.

If Colonel Wimpleton and Major Toppleton still kept up their former ill will and resentment, it was confined to them, for the two Institutes could no longer be regarded as the rival academies. Each visited the other occasionally, and at one of these meetings some one proposed that the two battalions should be consolidated into a regiment. Tommy and Waddie, who had cordially joined hands, favored the proposition. It was carefully discussed for a whole afternoon, and a committee appointed to arrange the union. The two battalions agreed to meet the next holiday on the Horse Shoe to hear the report.

When the day came, it proved to be an exceedingly interesting occasion. The committee reported that each battalion should retain its present organization for separate parades. Field and staff officers were to be elected or appointed for joint parades. A Colonel and lieutenant colonel were to be elected. Pinkerton was to be major, and Briscoe adjutant. A ballot for the two field officers to be elected resulted in the choice of Tommy Toppleton as colonel, and Waddie Wimpleton as lieutenant colonel, for they were really the two most popular fellows in the regiment, under the new order of things. Both of them, with the modesty becoming the new life upon which they had entered, declined, and insisted that Pinkerton and Briscoe should have the highest positions; but we finally persuaded them to accept, and we were never sorry for their action or our own.

In the fall, the regiment marched entirely around the lake, using a fortnight for the tour, and had a magnificent time. We did not stop at Trottwood’s this time, though we saw Jed and his father at work in the field. They never troubled Christy Holgate, and I doubt whether he ever went near them. Peace and harmony reigned throughout the regiment. We camped one night on High Bluff, and laughed over the war of the students which had been fought there; but I think all of us were satisfied with the final result, when Tommy Toppleton switched off.

Christy Holgate was not disturbed by the officers of justice. He was a temperate, well-behaved man, and no one was disposed to meddle with him after he had made all the reparation in his power for his crime. Mr. Penniman divided the labor on the boat with him, so that Christy ran the Ucayga from Centreport to Hitaca, and down to the same point the next morning. This arrangement enabled the Pennimans to occupy their place in Middleport, though Wolf was absent much of the time. Christy moved his family to Hitaca, so that he was with them every night.

But I have told my part of the story, and if the moral of it is not already apparent, I will simply add, that, when you find yourself leading a wicked or useless life,—in other words, when you are on the wrong track,—do as my good friend Tommy Toppleton did—SWITCH OFF.