hey had all the charms
of country life about them with the town near enough at hand in case
they wanted to get anything.

There were tents to sleep in, a dining tent and one for the kitchen,
and a big pavilion where the boys could do what little work they were
expected to do during their stay on the river.

A very black, very jolly looking negro, who rejoiced in the name of
Bucephalus, and who was the coachman and head waiter at the Academy,
now had the position of head cook and general handy man, and the
boys knew that they would be well looked after, Bucephalus being a
general favorite.

Besides the professors there was the military instructor and
drillmaster, Colonel Bull, a fat little man with a great deal of
self-importance, who looked after the physical side of the boys'
instruction, while the professors attended to the mental side.

There were a number of motor-boats, several of the boys going partners
in these, and there were also rowboats and canoes, a considerable
number of the Hilltop boys being accustomed to the water, and
spending a good deal of their time on it.

Harry Dickson and Arthur Warren, chums of Jack and Dick, had a boat
together, as did Herring and Merritt, and there were several boys
who had boats alone, like Percival and Jack, one of these being a
little fellow, the smallest boy in the Academy, who had his full
name, Jesse W. Smith, painted on the stern of his boat, which he
managed alone with considerable dexterity.

Percival's boat was a costly affair, and was fitted with cushions
and an awning, had silver trimmings and was lined inside with
mahogany and other costly woods, being a very handsome affair, but
no better as a boat, as its owner himself remarked, than Jack's
made-over craft.

"That's the way I do things, Jack," he said when the boys were out
on the river in his boat after bringing Jack's down to the camp.
"I can't begin to make the speed with this boat that you can with
yours, but I have a regular floating palace, as you might say. Why,
the Hudson River boats are not any better fitted up than this, size
considered, but I can't get any speed out of it. Maybe you can."

"I'll try, at any rate," returned Jack, as he did, making better time
than Percival had done, and handling the boat with greater dexterity.

"H'm! I believe you could get speed out of a canal-boat," said Dick,
as they sped along. "There's a nasty looking cloud coming down from
Thunder Mountain, Jack.