him
on that?"

"We never do that, sir. Here's a saddle. Just sit on it across this
chair, and when the time comes we'll work it in all right. We'll have a
real horse over in the lot." And thus Sam was taken straddling a chair.

They left orders to send copies of the photographs to Homeville,
Slowburgh, and to Miss Hunter who was still at East Point, and the
remainder to _The Lyre_. That very evening they boarded the transport
and at daybreak sailed away over the great ocean. The ship was filled
by various drafts for different regiments and men-of-war. Sam's
regiment was already at the seat of war, but there were several
captains and lieutenants assigned to it on board, as well as thirty or
forty men. Sam felt entirely comfortable again for the first time since
his resignation at East Point. He was in his element, the military
world, once more. Everything was ruled by drum, fife, and bugle. He
found the same feeling of intense patriotism again, which civilians can
not quite attain to, however they may make the attempt. The relations
between some of the officers seemed to Sam somewhat strange. The
highest naval officer on board, a captain, was not on speaking terms
with the highest army officer, a brigadier-general of volunteers. This
breach apparently set the fashion, for all the way down, through both
arms of the service, there were jealousies and quarrels. There was one
great subject of dispute, the respective merits of the two admirals who
had overcome the Castalian fleet at Havilla. Some ascribed the victory
to the one and some to the other, but to take one side was to put an
end to all friendships on the other.

"See here, Sam," said Cleary, not long after they had been out of sight
of land, "who are you for, Admiral Hercules or Admiral Slewey? We can't
keep on the fence, that's evident, and if we get down on different
sides we can't be friends, and that might upset all our plans, not to
speak of the Benevolent Assimilation Trust."

"The fact is," said Sam, "that I don't know anything about it. They're
both admirals, and they both must be right."

"Nobody knows anything about it, but we must make up our minds all the
same. My idea is that Hercules is going to come out ahead; and as long
as one seems as good as the other in other respects, I move that we go
for Hercules."

"Very well," said Sam, "if you say so. He was in command, anyway, and
more likely to be right."