And he was a good papa. Miss Grace was permitted to have her own way, though, being like her mother, who was a very amiable and gentle lady, having her own way did not seem to injure her, as it did her brother. I need not say that I was delighted with the arrangement. We got up the anchor, hoisted the jib, and in a few moments were standing down the lake before the fresh breeze. On the way Joe Poole served up breakfast in good style, and even the major declared that the beefsteak and fried potatoes were excellent. “The row has commenced!” shouted Tom Walton, at the helm, while we were at the table. Fortunately our appetites had been satisfied before this startling announcement was made, and we all hastened on deck to see the fight. CHAPTER XVI. THE BATTLE OF THE HORSE SHOE. Miss Grace Toppleton turned pale when Tom announced that the battle had commenced; but her father only uttered an exclamation of rage and impatience. The yacht was just entering the narrow channel between the Horse Shoe and the Shooter, and our position commanded a full view of the field. The Wimpletonians had landed on the north side of the island, near the middle of which was a ridge. The camp of the Toppletonians was at the head of the little bay between the two arms of the Horse Shoe. Behind it was a gentle slope of ground, which terminated at the ridge, beyond which the descent on the north shore was more abrupt. On this longer declivity, the two hostile battalions were drawn up in the order of battle. The statement that the conflict had commenced was premature; for, though the two “serried ranks” faced each other, no bones had yet been broken. The field presented the traditional aspect of boy fights when the contestants meet in force; the parties faced each other, and each waited for the other to advance. Though I was not an impartial judge, I could not help seeing that the Wimpletonians had displayed more generalship than the Toppletonians; for, instead of waiting on the steeper descent at the north shore, with the ridge above them, for an attack, they had boldly mounted the hill, and taken possession of the high ground, which gave them an advantage that more than compensated for their inferior numbers. The Toppletonians had not discovered the movement of the enemy till they appeared upon the ridge, which is another convincing proof that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” If they had kept even half a dozen sentinels in the exposed portions of the island during the night, they could easily have prevented the landing of the Wimpletonians; but probably they had no suspicion of a night movement.