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.”