Harper's Round Table, March 24, 1896

Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers. All Rights Reserved.

Fred March had an idea. It was even a brilliant idea, and the longer he pondered over it, the more certain he was that it was a practical one. And that, after all, is the important point, as Jack Howard had sagely observed, after being taken into Fred's confidence. Here it is as it finally resolved itself into tangible form.
The Twelfth Regiment of the Transylvania State National Guard are to hold a sham fight on Easter Monday. There has been a great deal of talk about the use of the bicycle in war, and here is a chance to test the theories. Let us organize the boys into a bicycle corps, and offer our services to your father, Colonel Howard, who commands the regiment.
Jack reflected, soberly, How could we be of any use?
We could be organized as a body of mounted riflemen, and also do scout and staff service. The fight is going to be somewhere on the Quantico golf course, and the grass on the links is short and smooth enough for riding. Easter comes so late this year that the frost is out of the ground already, and it isn't likely to rain before Monday. And then there are the roads in all directions.
How many fellows can we muster?
Well, you know that all the boys from boarding-school are at home for the Easter holidays, and I've counted up sixty-five single wheels and three tandems; then we have the motor cycle, the 'Happy Thought,' and the people at the Driving Park have promised to lend me the 'quad' that they have there for pacing the circuit riders—an available force altogether of seventy machines and seventy-seven men.
Jack became enthusiastic. Let's go down to the armory and propose it to my father, he said, briefly.
Colonel Howard was mildly amused when the proposition was first broached to him, but as the boys proceeded to explain the practical details of the plan he grew interested.
There may be something in it, he said, finally, and I'll think it over.