During the two minutes that they stood at the gate waiting for some one to open it, Tom raised all sorts of objections to his father’s arrangement, but could not induce him to change his mind. Mr. Newcombe never acted without mature deliberation, and when he had once decided upon his course, it was a hard matter to turn him from it. So Tom, in spite of himself, became a member of the military academy. He listened to the reading of the rules and regulations, reluctantly promised to obey them all, and, in the presence of his father, signed the muster-rolls; after which, Mr. Newcombe took leave of the principal, promising to return with Tom as soon as his uniform could be procured.
For two days after that Tom was a most miserable boy. He still entertained some hopes that he might be able to turn his father from his purpose, and, to accomplish his object, he invented all sorts of excuses and promises; but his efforts were unsuccessful. The merchant had decided that the military school was the best place for Tom, and the latter finally came to the conclusion that he would bear his punishment like a man.
One afternoon, for want of something better to do, Tom saddled his pony and took a short ride about the village. As he was returning home, he passed by the academy, and saw a company of boys engaged in drilling in the bayonet exercise. He dismounted, tied his pony to the fence, and watched the drill as long as it continued; and, when he rode toward home, his opinion concerning the military school had changed materially. He was astonished at the ease and skill with which the young soldiers handled their muskets, and, more than all, he admired and envied the captain—a youth about his own age.
“Perhaps it isn’t so bad, after all,” he soliloquized. “I always thought that I’d like to go to that academy. If a fellow like that can get a commission, I’d like to know what’s the reason I can’t get one also. I don’t intend to remain a private long. I shall work for shoulder-straps, and, the first thing some of those officers know, I’ll make them take back seats. I’ll certainly be captain of one of the companies in two or three weeks, and, after that, I shall have an easy time of it. Won’t I feel gay, sporting my shoulder-straps about the village? Then, after I get through here, I’ll go to West Point, and from there to the army; and then I’ll soon be promoted to general. I am all right now. I have decided to be a soldier.”
Tom was now as impatient to get into the military school as he had before been anxious to keep out of it; and, on the way home, he stopped at the tailor’s where his uniforms were being made, and requested that the work might be completed as soon as possible, as he was losing valuable time. At the supper table, that night, he surprised his father by informing him that he also had decided that the “military school was the place for him;” that he had always thought that he was “cut out for a general;” and that if Mr. Newcombe would visit the camp the coming fall, he would see his son wearing a captain’s uniform.
“You must remember that you have been disappointed a good many times,” said the merchant.
“I know it,” replied Tom; “but I am all right this time. I know I shall succeed. I’ll be captain of one of the academy companies in less than three weeks.”
“You’ll have to work hard for it,” said his father, “for you’ll find some smart boys there.”
“I don’t care!” said Tom, confidently. “I’ll beat them all. I’m bound to be the highest officer in the academy.”