[HE THREW THE HATCHET WITH ALL THE FORCE HE COULD COMMAND.]

THE ROVER BOYS
SHIPWRECKED

OR

A THRILLING HUNT FOR
PIRATES’ GOLD

BY

ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)

AUTHOR OF “THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL,” “THE ROVER
BOYS IN THE AIR,” “THE ROVER BOYS AT COLBY
HALL,” “THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES,” ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS

Made in the United States of America

Books by Arthur M. Winfield
(Edward Stratemeyer)

THE FIRST ROVER BOYS SERIES

• THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
• THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
• THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
• THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
• THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
• THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
• THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
• THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
• THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
• THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
• THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
• THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
• THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
• THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
• THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
• THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
• THE ROVER BOYS IN NEW YORK
• THE ROVER BOYS IN ALASKA
• THE ROVER BOYS IN BUSINESS
• THE ROVER BOYS ON A TOUR

THE SECOND ROVER BOYS SERIES

• THE ROVER BOYS AT COLBY HALL
• THE ROVER BOYS ON SNOWSHOE ISLAND
• THE ROVER BOYS UNDER CANVAS
• THE ROVER BOYS ON A HUNT
• THE ROVER BOYS IN THE LAND OF LUCK
• THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG HORN RANCH
• THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG BEAR LAKE
• THE ROVER BOYS SHIPWRECKED

THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES

• THE CADETS OF PUTNAM HALL
• THE RIVALS OF PUTNAM HALL
• THE CHAMPIONS OF PUTNAM HALL
• THE REBELLION AT PUTNAM HALL
• CAMPING OUT DAYS AT PUTNAM HALL
• THE MYSTERY AT PUTNAM HALL

12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York

Copyright, 1924, by
EDWARD STRATEMEYER

The Rover Boys Shipwrecked

INTRODUCTION

My Dear Boys: This book is a complete story in itself, but forms the eighth volume in a line issued under the general title, “The Second Rover Boys Series for Young Americans.”

As related in the First Series, this line of books was started with the publication of “The Rover Boys at School,” in which I introduced my readers to Dick, Tom and Sam Rover and their friends and relatives. This First Series, consisting of twenty volumes, told of what happened to these three Rover boys while attending Putnam Hall Military Academy, Brill College, and while on outings in this country and abroad. When the boys became married Dick Rover was blessed with a son and a daughter, as was also his brother Sam, while Tom became the parent of a lively pair of twin boys.

From their homes in New York City the four younger Rovers went to boarding school, as related in the first volume of the Second Series, entitled “The Rover Boys at Colby Hall.” From that school the scene was shifted to “Snowshoe Island” and then to doings while “Under Canvas.” Then the boys went “On a Hunt,” and, later, to “The Land of Luck.” Then came exciting days at “Big Horn Ranch” and at “Big Bear Lake,” where we last met them. In the present volume the scene is shifted to the Atlantic Ocean. The boys were shipwrecked and had many thrilling adventures.

As many of my readers know, the sale of this series of books is now well past the three million mark. To me, this seems truly wonderful. My only hope is that the reading of these books will do all of the boys and girls good.

Affectionately and sincerely yours,

Edward Stratemeyer.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE ROVER BOYS
SHIPWRECKED

CHAPTER I
AN ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD

“Battalion, attention!”

The command came from Major Jack Rover. The scene was the campus of Colby Hall Military Academy, and drawn up in front of the youthful major were the three companies of cadets. It was a clear day in November and the boys made an inspiring appearance in their well fitting uniforms. Every rifle was in the pink of condition, as were also the drums, fifes and bugles of the musicians.

“Present arms!” was the next command, and as the students held their rifles before them, Captain Mapes Dale, the military instructor, passed in front of one company after another. He was followed by Colonel Colby and Professor Grawson.

“The cadets certainly make a fine showing,” remarked Colonel Colby, after the brief inspection had come to an end.

“They do indeed, Colonel,” answered Captain Dale. “They have never turned out better. We’ll have to congratulate Major Rover. He certainly keeps the boys well in hand.”

The owner of the military academy and his aids came to the front once more, and then Captain Dale nodded to the young major. This was a signal that the youthful commander could now proceed with the usual morning routine.

“Shoulder arms! Forward march!” came the quick, clear command.

Then the drums struck up, followed by the lively pipings of the fifes, and the three companies of cadets moved forward across the campus and around the school buildings, finally coming to a halt in front of the entrance to the mess hall. There the cadets broke ranks, placed away their guns, swords and other equipments, and piled into the mess hall, where all were speedily seated at the numerous dining tables.

“That ends parading for some time to come,” remarked Captain Fred Rover, of Company C.

“And I’m not sorry,” returned Andy Rover, his cousin.

“Hurrah for the Thanksgiving holidays!” burst out Randy, Andy’s twin. “Won’t we have a dandy time at home?”

“And don’t forget that invitation from Ralph Mason,” came from Jack.

“Hoopla! Me for a life on the ocean wave!” burst out Andy. “Ralph says that motor boat is a dandy.”

“If only the weather stays clear!” said Fred, anxiously.

“Young gentlemen, a little less noise, please,” came from Professor Snopper Duke, who chanced to be at the head of the table at which the four Rovers were seated.

“Yes, sir. Sorry I spoke, sir,” mumbled Andy, and slyly put his tongue in one cheek, at which his twin brother and his cousins grinned.

All of the cadets were in high spirits, and with good reason—school was to close that afternoon for the Thanksgiving holidays. Nearly all of the cadets were going either home or elsewhere, so that only a handful would be left at the academy for ten days. Usually the Thanksgiving recess was shorter, but Colonel Colby wished to take advantage of the holidays by having some necessary repairs done to the mess hall ceiling, which was in danger of coming down.

Before Jack Rover had been elected major of the school battalion, Ralph Mason had occupied that important position. Now Ralph had left Colby Hall for good, but he still retained his affection for many of the lads there, and had invited the Rover boys and two of their chums, Gif Garrison and Dick Powell, to accompany him on a motor-boat trip from Woods Hole to Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod—the proposed outing, of course, being contingent upon the condition of the weather.

“I only hope the folks at home won’t object to our taking that motor-boat trip,” remarked Fred, after the meal was over and the boys were preparing to go to their classrooms.

“I don’t see how they can object,” came from Randy. “It will be perfectly safe.”

“Of course it will be safe,” returned his twin brother. “There won’t a thing happen to us.”

“Let’s hope so, anyway,” said Jack. “We’ve had adventure enough. Gracious, just look at what happened at Big Horn Ranch and at Big Bear Lake! After all those doings, I’m willing to sit down and take it easy.”

“No sitting down for me,” broke in Andy, and in high spirits he dropped his school books and turned a cartwheel in the corridor.

“Andy Rover, what do you mean by such conduct in the school building?” came in a cold, clear-cut voice, and the boys saw Professor Duke standing in a doorway close behind them.

“Oh, excuse me, sir. I didn’t know any one was looking,” stammered the fun-loving Rover.

“After this reserve your gymnastic exercises for the gymnasium,” was the professor’s sarcastic command as he turned away.

“My, but he’s a real sociable fellow!” was Randy’s whispered comment.

“And we thought he had turned over a new leaf,” murmured Jack.

“It must be bred in the bone,” was the way Fred expressed himself.

The gong was now sounding, and all of the cadets hurried to their various classrooms, and were soon deep in their studies or recitations. Although they liked fun, Andy and Randy especially, the Rovers knew that they must make good records at the Academy, or otherwise there would be trouble when they faced their fathers and mothers.

“Well, anyway, the agony will be over by half-past two this afternoon,” remarked Andy to his brother, “and by four-thirty we’ll be on our way home.”

“Do you suppose the girls will be on hand?” questioned Randy.

“Yes. Jack said Martha telephoned in early this morning. And she said she might have a surprise.”

“A surprise?” came from Fred. “How is that?”

“Martha wouldn’t say, because, she said, the whole thing might fall through.”

“It’s a wonder Jack didn’t make her tell! What do you suppose those girls have up their sleeve?”

“Search me! You can’t make Martha open her mouth when she wants to keep silent. She’s not one of the kind of girls to tell everything she knows.”

“Did she say Mary was in on the secret?” questioned Fred. Mary was his sister, and the two girls attended Clearwater Hall, a school for girls in that vicinity.

“Didn’t say a word about Mary,” put in Jack, thus appealed to.

“Maybe she didn’t say anything about Ruth Stevenson, either?” came from Andy, slyly, and his manner was such that the young major found himself blushing in spite of himself.

“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what’s doing,” sighed Randy.

The last day in school before a holiday is usually not so strictly observed as some others. The cadets, however, had to go through their usual recitations, interrupted only by the time taken for lunch. Then at half-past two the dismissal bell rang, and the cadets rushed hither and thither in their anxiety to pack and get away.

“Look at the autos outside, will you?” came from Gif Garrison, who had stopped to speak to Jack about the proposed trip with Ralph Mason. “I’ll say some fellows are in luck.”

“Yes, indeed!” came from Dick Powell, usually called Spouter by his chums. “I’d rather ride in an auto ten times over than in a stuffy train. Just think of rolling along through the country with all the foliage at its very best. Think of the trees tipped with crimson and gold, the mountainsides looking like——”

“There, Spouter, that will do for the present,” interrupted Jack, good-naturedly. “You can spout all you please about the scenery when we are off on our trip.”

“Oh, pshaw! you fellows have no eye for beauty,” grumbled Spouter, in disgust. “I don’t believe you know whether the tree leaves are red, yellow, green or pink.”

“Hi there, Jack! Come here!” came in a yell from Fred, who had run out on the campus. “Here’s a surprise!”

Jack broke away from a number of his friends and ran down to where Fred was standing. The two Rovers were quickly joined by Andy and Randy.

“Why, it’s dad!” came from Andy. “Dad and Uncle Sam!”

“And they’ve got the two autos with them!” answered his twin, dancing up and down in excitement.

“Say, was that the secret Martha was keeping?” demanded Jack, rushing up and shaking his two uncles by the hand. And then, before they could answer, he went on: “Where’s my dad? Why didn’t he come?”

“Your father had to remain in New York,” answered Tom Rover. “Somebody has to run the business, you know. We can’t all go holidaying,” and his eyes twinkled, showing that he was just as full of fun as he had been when at the age of his twin sons.

“Yes, we telephoned to Martha. But we told her to keep it a secret because we were afraid that something might hold us back,” explained Sam Rover.

“Why, Dad, you’ve got a new car!” burst out Fred. “What do you know about that! Some swell outfit, I’ll say,” he added, gazing at the new automobile admiringly. It was a big twelve-cylinder sedan, and looked to be the acme of comfort and mechanical perfection.

In a few minutes the boys learned that they were to leave the school by automobile and pick up the two Rover girls at Clearwater Hall on the way. Ruth Stevenson was to accompany Martha and Mary.

“Martha said Ruth’s folks are away on a tour,” explained Tom Rover. “So she is to spend the holidays with us.”

“Well, that will suit Jack all right enough,” said Randy quickly.

“Don’t you all like Ruth?” demanded the young major.

“Sure, we do!” came promptly from the others, and then, somehow, Jack felt better.

“You haven’t heard all of the secret yet,” Tom Rover said, grinning at his twin sons and his two nephews. “Shall I tell them?” he went on, turning to his brother Sam.

“Why not let them find it out for themselves?” came quickly from Fred’s father. And then, turning to the lads, he continued: “You don’t know where you are going, boys, but you’re on the way.”

“Do you mean to say that we’re not going home?” came from all four cadets in a chorus of wonder.

“You are not,” replied Tom Rover. “But don’t ask any more questions. Go ahead and get ready to leave. We have a long ride ahead of us, and we don’t want to drive any farther than is necessary after dark.”

While the Rover boys were saying good-bye to their chums and getting ready to make the trip, Tom Rover and his brother Sam went in to call on their old school chum, Colonel Colby.

“It’s a touch of old times to see you fellows again,” said Larry Colby, as he shook hands warmly. “It’s too bad Dick didn’t come with you. Then we’d have the old quartette,” and he smiled broadly.

“Well, time is bound to scatter us,” remarked Sam Rover. “Some of the fellows are scattered to the four quarters of the globe. About all the old crowd I ever see are Songbird Powell, Fred Garrison and Hans Mueller.”

Knowing that they had a long run ahead of them, the Rover boys lost no time in getting ready for the trip. Then their suitcases were stowed away and they climbed into the two cars, the twins with their father and the others with Sam Rover.

It did not take long to run to Haven Point and then along the lake to Clearwater Hall. Here they found a number of automobiles parked along the campus and many girl students coming and going.

“There they are!” called out Jack, and waved his hand. In a moment more his sister Martha came running toward them, followed by Mary Rover and Ruth Stevenson.

“How about the surprise, Jack?” cried Martha, her face beaming.

“Peachy!” answered her brother, promptly. “Couldn’t be better!”

“Did you suspect?” questioned Mary.

“Not at all. We thought the folks were all too busy in Wall Street to come up here just now.”

“Hold on! Hold on!” interrupted Sam Rover. “They don’t know where they’re going yet. Don’t spoil things.”

“They don’t!” burst out Mary. “Why, I thought——”

“No, that’s to be a surprise,” said Tom Rover. “Don’t tell them a word. Let them find out for themselves. It will give them something to think about.”

“Well, this certainly is a mystery,” murmured Fred, and he and his cousins looked blankly at each other.

“It was splendid to invite me to go along,” remarked Ruth Stevenson, as she shook hands warmly with the young major and the others. “Just splendid!”

“We’re glad to have you, Ruth,” answered Sam Rover.

The boys assisted the girls with their luggage, and a few minutes later the automobile trip was begun. The twins rode with their father, and Mary and Fred went with them, while Jack and Martha, accompanied by Ruth, rode with their Uncle Sam. As was to be expected, Tom Rover led the way and set such a pace that his brother had hard work to keep up with him.

“We figured out that we could reach a town called Bridgeville in time for supper,” said Sam Rover. “But I rather think we’ll have to hump ourselves to do it.”

“I guess Uncle Tom is going to try to put one over on you, Uncle Sam,” remarked Jack. “Maybe he wants to show you that his old car can outrun your new one.”

“It’s all right, if he doesn’t get into trouble,” answered Sam Rover.

“Oh, I don’t mind riding fast,” came from Ruth, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “It’s so good to be out of school once more!”

“Wish we were bound for Big Bear Lake,” said Jack.

“Oh, Jack, wouldn’t that be grand!”

“It would be unless some big bear came along to eat us up,” put in Martha.

“Oh, we killed off all the bears,” said Jack. And this remark made both of the girls giggle.

On and on sped the two cars, keeping just within sight of each other. Up hill and down hill they rolled, around broad curves, and over solid stone bridges and some that were built of wood and rattled loudly as they passed. The weather was so warm that they had all the windows down, so they could enjoy the fresh air to its fullest.

“Where do you suppose they are taking us?” whispered Randy to his brother, as they rolled swiftly along.

“Search me!” was the slangy answer. “They’ve certainly got something up their sleeve. I thought sure we were going home.”

“So did I.”

Suddenly the car guided by Sam Rover struck a broad curve leading to the left. A little farther on there was a crossroad, and presently through the trees and bushes Fred’s father caught sight of a long, low, yellow car on the other highway. As this car was coming from his right, he at once slackened his pace and blew his horn vigorously.

The occupants of the other car paid not the slightest attention to the warning, but kept on, faster, if possible, than ever. As a consequence, Sam Rover had to jam on the brakes. Then, as he came still closer to the crossroads, he prepared to make the turn and run, if possible, with the other car. Then came a wild tooting of the other horn, and the yellow car attempted to make a turn to the right to get into the highway on which the Rovers were running.

But this turn proved disastrous, and in a twinkling the yellow car rolled over and over, landing in some bushes on the side of the road. The Rovers’ car proceeded a distance of fifty yards on the crossroad, and then came to a standstill.

CHAPTER II
SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THE ROVERS

“Oh, look at that auto!”

“It turned over and over!”

“Do you suppose they are killed?”

Such were some of the cries that came from the occupants of Sam Rover’s car as the machine came to a standstill. In the meanwhile the car run by Tom Rover had disappeared around a bend of the main highway.

“This certainly looks bad,” murmured Sam Rover, as he leaped to the ground, accompanied by Jack. Both ran back to the scene of the accident, followed slowly and somewhat fearfully by Martha and Ruth.

“Oh, suppose they are killed or terribly hurt?” murmured the Rover girl to her chum.

“If they are hurt we’ll have to do what we can for them,” answered Ruth. “I wonder if there is any first-aid kit in your uncle’s machine?”

There had been several loud yells of alarm as the low, yellow car turned over and over in the bushes beside the highway. Now, however, as Jack Rover and his uncle approached, there was an ominous silence, the spinning wheels of the machine coming to a sudden stop.

“There is one man!” cried the youthful major, and pointed into some bushes where the legs of an individual were floundering around in the air. A few seconds later the man righted himself and struggled to a nearby tree, dazed and bewildered.

“There is another fellow—under the auto!” came from Sam Rover. “Come on! Let us get him out before the machine has a chance to settle down on him.”

The military training of uncle and nephew stood them in good stead, and they knew exactly what to do in this emergency. Close at hand was a rail fence, and while Sam Rover strained with might and main to keep the yellow car from turning over on the man in the brushwood, Jack obtained a fence rail. Rushing up with this, he propped it against the machine to hold it in place. Then he and his uncle grabbed the unknown man, who was almost unconscious, and dragged him to safety.

“Any more in the auto?” panted Jack, his quick efforts having almost winded him.

“I don’t see any.” Sam Rover turned to the man who was leaning against the tree. “Were there more than two of you?” he questioned.

“No!” bellowed that individual, glaring at the Rovers. “You’ve got us in a fine fix, I must say!” he went on sourly.

“I think you fellows were as much to blame as any one,” answered Sam Rover, curtly. “However, now is no time to quarrel. Your friend seems to be pretty well used up.”

“I don’t think he’s hurt as much as I am,” said the other man, surlily. “I was pitched out right on my head.” He was now rubbing the back of his neck and his left shoulder. “For all I know, something may be broken.”

Reasoning that the sour-faced individual would not argue in this fashion if he were seriously hurt, Sam Rover turned his attention to the other man, and Jack did likewise. The young major had noted a tiny watercourse close to where the roads intersected, and now he ran to this and brought back a capful of water. With this they bathed the man’s face, so that he soon opened his eyes and sat up.

“Any bones broken?” asked Jack’s uncle, kindly.

“I don’t know.” The man pulled himself together slowly, and then started to rise. “Gee, but my back feels sore! We certainly came a cropper, didn’t we?” and he grinned sheepishly at the Rovers.

“I’m glad no one was killed,” said Sam Rover.

“See here! This is your fault,” howled the other man, coming forward stiffly. “You had no business to be racin’ on this road.”

“I don’t think I was running as fast as you were,” answered Jack’s uncle.

“I bet you wasn’t,” put in the other man, still grinning. He turned to his companion in misfortune. “I told you, Ferguson, not to hit ’er up quite so fast. Some time you’ll climb a stone wall and land in the cemetery.”

“Oh, shut up, Billings,” growled the man called Ferguson. “I know what I was doin’. It was this fellow’s fault, and he’s got to pay for the damage done.”

“All right, make him pay,” was the good-natured comment from Billings. Then suddenly he began to chuckle. “I wonder how much of the stuff we smashed, Bill,” he went on.

“Shut your jaw, you fool!” cried Ferguson. “I say this fellow has got to pay for the damage done.”

While the men were talking Jack and the two girls had moved closer to the upset car to inspect it.

“Oh, look, Jack!” whispered Ruth, suddenly. “What is that running from it? Is it the gasoline?”

“I don’t think so.” The young major made a closer inspection and began to sniff the air. “It’s liquor. These fellows are carrying hooch.”

“Oh, did you ever!” murmured Martha, in horror, for she had never had any use for liquor in any form.

“Say, you get away from that car!” burst out Bill Ferguson, in sudden alarm. “Get away from there, I say!”

“They are carrying liquor. The car is loaded with it, Uncle Sam!” cried Jack.

“Yes; and they have both been drinking,” answered his uncle quickly. He turned to the two men. “If you want to make a police affair of this, I’m willing,” he continued sternly. “But I’ll tell you right now, you’ll make a poor showing in a police court.”

“Oh, call it off! Call it off, Ferguson!” interposed Billings, as good-naturedly as ever. “I ain’t making no kick, and half the cargo belongs to me at that. Do you want us to get in bad around here? Call it off, I tell you!”

“I ain’t goin’ to have this car busted up for nothin’,” grumbled Ferguson. “However,” he added hastily, “I suppose I’ll have to let it pass. We ain’t got any witnesses against you.”

“You’ll be lucky if you both keep out of jail,” answered Sam Rover, pointedly. “Carrying liquor around like that is prohibited, and you know it. I advise you to get out of the business and stay out.” Jack’s uncle turned to those with him. “Come on, and we’ll see if we can catch up to your Uncle Tom.”

As the Rovers and Ruth left the vicinity of the accident the two men watched them narrowly. On the face of Billings there was a look of dismay, while Ferguson appeared more sour than ever. He glared sharply at Jack.

“Maybe we’ll meet again some day, and under different circumstances,” he remarked, with a scowl.

“What awful men!” was Ruth’s comment, as they climbed into the automobile once more. “I’d hate to be alone and meet them.”

“What do you suppose they are, Uncle Sam? A couple of liquor runners?”

“More than likely, Jack,” answered his uncle. “But one thing is certain—this load of liquor will never be delivered,” he added, with a chuckle.

“I don’t see why they can’t obey the law and leave liquor alone,” remarked Martha, as the car was backed to the other road and then sent forward in the direction Tom Rover had taken.

“There is too much money in it, that’s why,” answered her uncle. “Some of these rum-runners—or bootleggers, as they are called—have become millionaires at the game. They sell all sorts of the vilest kind of concoctions at exorbitant prices.”

They ran on for several miles and then reached a point where they found the other automobile resting by the roadside.

“Didn’t know whether you were lost, strayed or stolen,” called out Tom Rover, gayly. “What happened? Did you get a puncture or just stop to pick buttercups?”

“No. We’ve been dabbling in spirits,” answered his brother, just as gayly.

“And we knocked the spirits out in one round,” added Jack.

Then the story of the accident on the road was narrated, the others listening with keen interest.

“Gee, I wish I’d been there!” declared Andy, wistfully. “I’m never around when anything like that happens!”

“Never around!” cried Fred. “If I know anything about it, you’re generally in the thick of it.”

“I’m glad neither of the men was seriously hurt, even if they are bootleggers,” remarked Mary. “And as for their liquor, it served them right to have it smashed and spilt.”

“I can tell you that one man, the fellow named Bill Ferguson, was certainly mad,” said Jack to his cousins. “He looked as if he wanted to chew us up.”

“You’d better keep your eyes open in case you meet him again,” remarked Randy.

“Oh, it isn’t likely that we’ll ever meet again,” replied the young major. But in this he was mistaken. He was to meet Bill Ferguson again and under the most thrilling of circumstances.

Once more the two automobiles proceeded on their way. And while they are thus rolling along let me take the opportunity to introduce my characters more specifically.

In the first volume of this series, entitled “The Rover Boys at School,” I introduced three brothers, Dick, Tom and Sam Rover, who resided at that time with their Uncle Randolph and their Aunt Martha at Valley Brook Farm, a pleasant country place in New York state. From the farm the boys had been sent to Putnam Hall Military Academy and, later on, to Brill College. Then they had gone into business in Wall Street, New York, under the name of The Rover Company. Each had been married to a boyhood sweetheart, and now the three families resided in adjoining residences on Riverside Drive overlooking the beautiful Hudson River, in New York City.

Not a long while after his marriage to Dora Stanhope, Dick had been blessed with a son, John, who was always called Jack, and a daughter, Martha, who was a year younger than her brother. To Sam Rover and his wife Grace had come a daughter, Mary, and, about a year later, a son, who was named Fred after an old school chum, Fred Garrison. Tom and his wife, Nellie, were blessed with a healthy pair of boy twins, one called Andy, after his grandfather, Anderson, and the other Randy, after Uncle Randolph.

As they resided side by side, the younger generation of Rover boys, as well as their sisters, were brought up very much as one large family. At first the young folks were sent to some private institutions of learning in the Metropolis. But presently Andy and Randy, as well as the other boys, began to develop such a propensity for fun it was decided to send them to some stricter institution of learning.

At that time Larry Colby was at the head of a military academy, called Colby Hall. How Jack and Fred and the twins were sent to that institution of learning and what happened to them, has already been related in the volume entitled “The Rover Boys at Colby Hall.”

At the school the lads made many friends and also a few enemies. Among their warmest chums were Gif Garrison, the son of their fathers’ old friend, Fred Garrison, after whom Fred Rover was named, and Spouter Powell, the son of the older Rovers’ chum, John Powell, always known as Songbird because of his propensity for writing what he called poetry.

A term at Colby Hall had been followed by some winter adventures on “Snowshoe Island.” Then the boys had returned to school to go into an encampment “Under Canvas.” Later still the lads had gone on a great “Hunt,” which had been productive of many adventures. Later still, after another term at the military academy, where Jack had gradually worked his way up from being an under officer to becoming major of the school battalion and where Fred had risen until he was now the captain of Company C, the four boys, along with several chums, had gone into “The Land of Luck,” otherwise the great oil regions of Texas and Oklahoma.

Shortly after this Spouter announced that his father had purchased a place in the far West called “Big Bear Ranch.” The boys were invited to visit this place and had a glorious time in the saddle and otherwise.

Colby Hall was located on Clearwater Lake not far from the town of Haven Point. On the other side of the town was located Clearwater Hall, a school for girls. Among the pupils at this institution were Ruth Stevenson and also May Powell, a cousin of Spouter Powell. Jack and the other boys speedily became acquainted with these girls, and later on induced their parents to allow Martha and Mary to become pupils at the place.

Gif Garrison had often been a guest of the Rovers. When his father became the owner of a large bungalow at Big Bear Lake, the cadet received permission to use the place for a summer outing. How Gif, Spouter and the four Rover boys went to this resort, and what stirring adventures they had there with wild animals and with some students from a rival academy, is told in the volume preceding this, entitled “The Rover Boys at Big Bear Lake.”

“We certainly had some wonderful happenings at Big Bear Lake,” Fred had remarked when the boys were returning to Colby Hall after their outing. “I don’t believe we’ll ever have more strenuous times than those.” But in this surmise Fred was mistaken, as the pages which follow will prove.

It was just growing dark when the two automobiles entered Bridgeville and pulled up at the leading hotel. Tom Rover had telephoned ahead, and a substantial supper awaited the crowd, to which, it is needless to state, all did full justice. In spite of the narrow escape during the ride, all of the young folks were in the best of spirits.

“Now tell us what’s the rest of this secret,” demanded Fred. “Where are we bound?”

“Don’t tell them, girls,” cried Tom Rover. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he went on, with that same merry twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll give a five-dollar bill to the boy who first guesses where we are going to stop to-night. Now, no more questions, only keep your eyes wide open.”

“Well, so far, for all I know, we may be headed for New York City,” was Fred’s comment.

“Yes, and we may be headed for the north pole,” answered his fun-loving uncle, gayly.

As soon as possible after supper, the automobile trip was resumed. Mile after mile was reeled off in the semi-darkness, the powerful lights of both machines making the road almost as bright as day. Travel seemed to be light on the highway, and they made rapid progress for thirty miles or more.

“Hello, here is a brand new concrete road!” exclaimed Fred presently. “Looks as if it had just been opened.”

“Opened less than a week ago,” answered his uncle. “Now watch sharp if you want to win that prize.”

On and on sped the two automobiles. Seven miles more were covered, and then they turned sharply to the left and mounted a long hill thickly wooded on either side. At the top of the hill both automobiles came to a stop.

“Why, I declare!” stammered Fred. “It’s Dexter’s Corners! There is the Swift River and there’s the railroad station at Oak Run! Why, we’re going to Valley Brook Farm!”

“Right-o!” sang out his uncle. And then he tooted the horn three times. At the same time the horn from the other automobile sounded out.

“Hello, they’ve discovered it too!” burst out Mary.

“Hurrah for Valley Brook Farm!” shouted Randy.

“What do you know about this?” came from the other automobile, in Jack’s voice. “Some surprise, eh? We’re going to have our Thanksgiving turkey on the farm.” And then he added quickly: “Will father and mother be there?”

“Yes, they’re coming up on the early morning train to-morrow,” answered his Uncle Sam.

In a minute more they had passed across the river in the direction of Dexter’s Corners. Then they struck the old road leading to the farm where great-uncle Randolph and great-aunt Martha resided, and where Dick, Tom and Sam had spent so much time when their father, Anderson Rover, had been lost in the jungles of Africa.

“My, but the old place certainly looks good to me!” cried Jack, as they rolled up, both machines sounding their horns loudly.

The old farmhouse was glowing with lights, and now the front door opened, revealing Anderson Rover and Randolph Rover and his wife Martha. Then a side door opened likewise, and to the front came rushing Jack Ness, the old hired man, and Aleck Pop, the colored man who had been the Rovers’ servant for so many years.

“Hurrah for Valley Brook Farm!” shouted Randy, as he rushed forward to embrace his Aunt Martha, and the other boys echoed the cry.

CHAPTER III
A THANKSGIVING REUNION

“How good it seems to be at the farm once more,” remarked Fred, after the various greetings were over and old Aunt Martha had bustled off to get a bit of lunch for the travelers before they retired for the night.

“It’s a beautiful old place,” said Ruth to Jack. “I know I’m going to have a splendid time here.”

“It’s too bad I can’t be with you, Ruth,” returned the young major, rather wistfully. “But you know the old saying—a fellow can’t be in two places at once.”

“I only hope that motor-boat trip proves a pleasant one, Jack.”

“Oh, I think it will be a dandy. Ralph Mason, you know, is a fine fellow, and he said the motor boat was a peach.”

All the young folks were tired out because of the various doings of the day, and were glad enough to retire as soon as they had partaken of the refreshments served. The boys slept soundly, and so did the girls, and none of them put in an appearance until it was time for breakfast.

“Hello, Jack!” cried Randy, as he met the hired man on the side porch. “How are you feeling these days?”

“Pretty good, everything considered,” answered Jack Ness, with a grin. “Ain’t quite as young as I used to be when your dad was a boy around here.”

“He tells me you used to have great times together.”

“Well, we did—when your dad and your uncles didn’t get to cuttin’ up too high.”

“So they cut up once in a while, did they?”

“They sure did!”

After breakfast Tom Rover drove over to the railroad station to meet Dick and his wife. Jack and his sister went along, while Mary took Ruth to show her over the place.

“Well, Aleck, you’re getting younger every day,” remarked Andy, gayly, as he met the old colored man bringing in some onions and turnips from the barn.

“Can’t say as I’s much younger, but I ce’tainly doan feel no older, Massa Andy,” was the answer.

“Haven’t had the mumps, have you?” went on Andy, somewhat anxiously.

“Mumps? No, sah, I ain’t had no mumps.”

“Then maybe it was the measles?”

“No, sah, Massa Andy, I ain’t had no measles either.”

“That’s queer. Perhaps it was chilblains, or lumbago, or turtle-foot?”

“No, I ain’t had no chilblains nor no lumbago. But w’at’s dat turtle-foot? I ain’t never done hear of him.”

“Never heard of turtle-foot?” demanded the fun-loving Rover boy. “Now isn’t that strange! I thought you were brought up in a place where everybody had turtle-foot once in a while. Your nose looks just as if you’d had it. And just look at your ears! They’re all curled up like dead leaves. Don’t feel as if you wanted to see a doctor or an undertaker, do you, Aleck?”

“Say, w’at you want to do? Scare dis nigger out of his life?” questioned Aleck, his eyes as big as saucers. “I doan feel nothin’ the matter with my ears,” and he felt of both ears carefully. “An’ my nose seems all right, too,” he went on.

“All right. I only wanted to know. We can’t afford to have anything happen to the best looking colored man on the farm,” returned Andy, with great seriousness.

“Say, you’re only jokin’, Massa Andy. You is jest like your dad before you. He was always botherin’ the life out o’ dis coon. But he was a nice boy—yes, sah, he was. An’ he’s a nice man, too,” added Aleck, hastily.

“Never mind, Aleck. I brought you a sure cure for your ills,” continued the fun-loving Rover. “Picked it up at a store in Haven Point a few days ago. It will cure you of turtle-foot, rheumatism, misery, or anything else. Whenever you’re not feeling in the best of condition, just smell it real hard, and you’ll feel better at once,” and thus talking, Andy brought from his pocket a small article wrapped in tissue paper.

“Well, now, Massa Andy, dat’s right good of you to remember dis ol’ nigger,” answered Aleck, taking the package. “Want me to look at it right now?”

“Certainly, Aleck. And remember, if you don’t feel in the best of health just smell of it good and strong.”

Setting down his basket of turnips and onions, the colored man unwrapped the article somewhat gingerly. To his gaze there was displayed an imitation rabbit’s foot that looked almost real.

“A rabbit’s foot! Dat sure am good luck!” he exclaimed, his eyes glistening. “Ain’t nothin’ better.” He turned the article over in his hands. “I ain’t feelin’ so very scrumptuous this mornin’, so maybe I’d better take a smell of it,” he ventured.

“Sure, Aleck. But remember, you have to smell good and powerful. Otherwise the charm won’t work,” returned Andy.

Aleck looked at the imitation rabbit’s foot again, and then lifted the article to his nostrils. He closed his mouth tightly and took a long, deep breath through his nose. The next instant the colored man jerked back his head and his eyes stared as if about to start from his face. Then his head went back and he gave a resounding sneeze.

Kerchoo! kerchoo! kerchoo! Loud and clear came one sneeze after another while the tears began to run down Aleck’s face.

“Hurrah, it’s taking effect!” shouted Andy, gayly.

“Dat dere rabbit’s foot am—kerchoo—am full of—kerchoo—pepper!” gasped Aleck Pop. “You done—kerchoo—played a—kerchoo—trick on de ol’ man!” And then he went off into another spasm of sneezing.

“That will make you feel like a new man, sure,” put in Randy, who stood near by watching proceedings. Andy had told him about the rabbit’s foot and what fun he hoped to have with the article.

“It certainly will clear out your head, Aleck,” was Fred’s comment, with a grin. “Keep right on sneezing.”

“Am dat a cure, or am it only ’nother trick?” demanded Aleck, between more sneezes.

“You’ve got to take it for what it’s worth, Aleck,” replied Andy, with a chuckle. “If you don’t like it, you know you can always pass it along.”

“Perhaps Jack Ness would like to try the cure,” suggested Randy.

“By golly, dat’s w’at I’ll do! I’ll try it on Ness.” And then Aleck Pop pocketed the imitation rabbit’s foot so well seasoned with cayenne pepper and resumed his errand.

The train came in promptly, and it goes without saying that Jack and Martha were glad to see their father and mother. Dick Rover looked the picture of health, and his wife Dora was as beautiful as ever.

“We’re sure going to have some family reunion,” remarked Jack, as they rode back to the farm. “Everybody will be on hand to eat the two turkeys Aunt Martha is having roasted.”

“And you just ought to see the pumpkin and other pies in the pantry!” came from Martha. “I’m sure all the boys will eat themselves sick.”

“Humph! I don’t see you and Mary holding back on pie, or turkey either,” returned her brother, quickly.

It certainly was a grand family reunion. The dining table extended from one end of the dining room through the folding doors of the sitting room. At the head of the table sat Grandfather Anderson Rover, with old Uncle Randolph and his wife Martha beside him. Then came the fathers and mothers of the Rover boys, and the young folks occupied the other end of the table, with Ruth, the only outside guest, sitting between Martha and Jack. It was old Uncle Randolph who asked the blessing, and it can truthfully be said that all were thankful that they were together and in the best of health.

“I’ll tell you what—a gathering like this is something to be remembered,” remarked Dick Rover.

“Yes, indeed, Dick,” came from Dora, his wife. “There is no telling how long these gatherings can last. Your father and your Aunt Martha and Uncle Randolph are certainly growing old.”

It was a great feast, and all of the young folks ate turkey and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and turnips and boiled onions until they had to desist in order to save room for the pies and other dessert that followed.

“Gee, I feel like a stuffed alderman!” sighed Randy, at last. “I couldn’t eat another mouthful if I tried.”

“Same here,” said Fred.

“If I tried to eat another piece of pie, I’d bust off every button I’ve got,” was the way Andy expressed himself.

“Suppose we take a walk?” suggested Jack. “We need it.”

“I expect you want to work up an appetite for supper,” said Mary, slyly.

“We’ve got to do something, haven’t we?” her cousin retorted.

All of the young folks were glad to get out into the air again, and they ended by taking a long walk back of the farm where the Rick Rack River flowed. The lads had gone over this territory a number of times, and Jack pointed out to Ruth where his father and his uncles had had numerous adventures in the past—adventures which have been jotted down from time to time in the earlier volumes of the First Series.

“I wish you were going along on that motor-boat trip, Ruth,” remarked Jack, when the pair were strolling along a little apart from the others.

“It would be nice if we were all going,” admitted the girl. “But I guess the motor boat would be pretty well crowded.”

“Yes; Ralph said she wouldn’t hold any more than the crowd that is to go.”

“Of course you expect to be back in time for school?”

“Yes, we’ll be back unless the unexpected happens.”

All arrangements had already been made, and bright and early on the morning following Thanksgiving the four Rover boys said good-bye to their parents and the others and drove away to the railroad station at Oak Run. Here they took a train for the Junction, and there changed to an express for Worcester.