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THE ROVER BOYS IN THE LAND OF LUCK
Or
Stirring Adventures in the Oil Fields
by
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)
Author of "The Rover Boys at School," "The Rover Boys on the Ocean,"
"The Rover Boys on a Hunt." "The Putnam Hall Series," Etc.
Illustrated
New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
Made in the United States of America
[Illustration: "THEY'VE STRUCK OIL!" YELLED ANDY EXCITEDLY.]
INTRODUCTION
My Dear Boys: This book is a complete story in itself, but forms the
fifth volume in a line issued under the general title, "The Second Rover
Boys Series for Young Americans."
As mentioned in some volumes of the first series, this line was started
years ago with the publication of "The Rover Boys at School," "On the
Ocean," and "In the Jungle," in which I introduced my readers to Dick,
Tom, and Sam Rover and their relatives. The volumes of the first series
related the doings of these three Rover boys while at Putnam Hall
Military Academy, Brill College, and while on numerous outings.
Having acquired a good education, the three young men established
themselves in business in New York and became married. Dick Rover was
blessed with a son and a daughter, as was likewise his brother Sam,
while Tom Rover became the proud father of twin boys. As the four lads
were all of a decidedly lively disposition, it was thought best to send
them to a boarding school, and in the first volume of the second series,
entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall," I related what happened to them
while attending this institution.
From Colby Hall the scene was shifted to "Snowshoe Island," where the
lads went for a mid-Winter outing. Then they came back to Colby Hall,
and what happened to them at the annual encampment of the young cadets
is related in the third volume, entitled "The Rover Boys Under Canvas."
When Winter was once more at hand the younger Rovers thought they would
like to go on another outing with their chums, and in a volume entitled
"The Rover Boys on a Hunt" I related how they came upon a mysterious
house in the forest and uncovered a most unusual mystery.
In the present volume the scene is shifted from stirring doings at Colby
Hall to still more stirring doings in the famous oil fields in the
southern part of our country.
Once more I feel called upon to thank my numerous readers for the many
nice things they have said about these "Rover Boys" books. I earnestly
hope that the reading of the volumes will do them all good.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
Edward Stratemeyer.
CONTENTS
I OUT IN THE STORM
II WHO THE ROVER BOYS WERE
III TO THE RESCUE
IV IN THE GYMNASIUM
V THE RIVAL SCHOOL
VI PLAYING HIXLEY HIGH
VII NEWS FROM ABROAD
VIII THE JOKE ON THE SNEAK
IX THE GAME WITH LONGLEY
X A GLORIOUS VICTORY
XI BONFIRE NIGHT
XII ON BLUEBELL ISLAND
XIII WERNER'S ATTACK
XIV BOUND FOR HOME
XV BACK FROM FRANCE
XVI DICK ROVER'S HEROISM
XVII THE GREAT VICTORY PARADE
XVIII BOUND FOR TEXAS
XIX IN THE LAND OF LUCK
XX PLOTTING AGAINST DICK ROVER
XXI WORDS AND BLOWS
XXII AMONG THE OIL WELLS
XXIII A QUEER SUMMONS
XXIV DICK ROVER'S REVELATION
XXV DAVENPORT'S ACCUSATION
XXVI NEWS OF RUTH
XXVII CAUGHT BY THE ENEMY
XXVIII AT THE FRANKLIN PLACE
XXIX DAYS OF ANXIETY
XXX THE NEW WELL--CONCLUSION
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE LAND OF LUCK
CHAPTER I
OUT IN THE STORM
"Jack, it looks as if we were in for another storm."
"Yes, and it's starting right now," declared Captain Jack Rover, as he
glanced through the trees to the overcast sky. "Don't you hear it on the
leaves?"
"It does beat everything!" declared Andy Rover, his usually bright face
clouding a bit. "It has rained enough in the past two weeks to last a
year."
"Do you know, I like these constant rains less than I liked being
snowbound up at Cedar Lodge," put in Lieutenant Fred Rover.
"Oh, there was some fun in being snowbound," declared Randy Rover. "A
fellow could go out in it and have the best time ever. But what can a
chap do when the rain is coming down to beat the band?"
"Well, you can go out and get a shower-bath free of charge," commented
his twin gaily.
"I'll take my showers in the gym," was the quick reply. "Gee! listen to
that, will you?"
There was no need for any of the four Rover boys to listen, or to look,
either. A blinding flash of lightning had swept the sky, followed almost
immediately by a crash of thunder in the woods behind them. Then
followed another crash, as of falling timber.
"It struck a tree, I'll bet a new cap!" exclaimed Jack.
"Yes, and it was a little bit too close for comfort, too," answered his
cousin Fred.
The thunder and lightning were followed by a sudden rush of wind which
caused the trees of the forest to sway violently. Then the downfall of
rain increased until it was little short of a deluge.
"We've got to get to some sort of shelter!" cried Jack. "And the sooner
we get there the better. If we stay under the trees we'll be soaked to
the skin."
"It's all right enough to talk about shelter," returned Randy quickly;
"but where are you going to find it? I don't know of even a log shack in
this vicinity."
"We might leg it down to the river," suggested his brother. "We can't be
very far from Rocky Bend."
"That's the talk!" burst out Fred Rover. "There is a cliff at the Bend,
and I remember there is a hollow under it which the river washed out
years ago."
"The trouble is you may find that hollow filled with water now, Fred,"
answered Jack. "Remember the heavy rains of the last few weeks have
caused something of a freshet. Even down at our boathouse the water is
unusually high."
Another streak of lightning followed by more thunder interrupted the
conversation. Then the wind seemed to veer around, and the rain came
swishing in under the tree where the four lads had been resting.
The Rover boys had left Colby Hall immediately after the day's lessons
for a tramp through the woods that bordered the Rick Rack River. They
had been kept indoors more or less for over two weeks, it raining nearly
every day. But that morning the sun had come through the clouds, and
they had thought to enjoy a much-desired outing.
All were clad in their cadet uniforms, and in addition wore their
shoulder capes and also their rubbers. They had found the roads and
paths running through the woods very wet, but did not mind this, being
glad to breathe some "real air," as Randy had expressed it.
"I just hate to be boxed in all the time," had been his words. "Give me
an outdoor life every time." And then in the exuberance of his spirits
he had turned what is commonly termed among athletes a cart-wheel. But
when his feet came down again he found the ground so slippery he
promptly landed flat on his back, much to the amusement of the others.
The four Rovers had asked some of their chums to accompany them, but two
of the other cadets had errands to do in town and the others wished to
write letters to their folks at home, so the four had gone off by
themselves. All were good walkers, and they had covered a distance of
several miles before the sky became again overcast.
"If we weren't so far from the school we might make a dash for it,"
suggested Jack.
"We can't run that far!" returned Fred, who was the smallest of the
boys. "We'd be all out of wind and simply get wet through and through.
Let's try for the river. We're sure to find some sort of shelter under
the rocks and bushes at the Bend."
"All right; here we go!" was Jack's quick reply. As the oldest of the
boys and as a captain of the Colby Hall cadets, he was naturally looked
upon as the leader.
He and Fred started side by side and Andy and Randy followed closely.
Their course was along a winding path leading over some rough rocks and
through some small overhanging bushes.
"Wow! What are you trying to do? Give me a shower-bath?" grumbled Randy
presently. Jack had pushed some long and well-saturated brushwood to one
side in passing. Now the bushes swung back into place, catching poor
Randy over the face and breast and showering him with water.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't hold the bushes back," said Jack. "You had
better not stick so close."
"Oh, well, a little more water doesn't count, Jack. We are getting
pretty well soaked anyway."
The wind was blowing so furiously the cadets had all they could do to
hold their capes tight around their shoulders as they progressed. More
lightning lit up the sky, and then they heard the fall of another tree
some distance away.
"It's going to be a humdinger of a storm," remarked Andy.
"Yes, and I'd give as much as two nickels to be safe back at the Hall,"
came from Fred. The constant thunder and lightning was beginning to get
on the smallest youth's nerves.
Presently the four Rovers caught sight of the river through the trees.
The stream, which at this point was nothing more than a mountain
torrent, boiled and foamed as it dashed over the rocks.
"It certainly is getting high," said Jack, as all paused for a moment to
catch their breath. "I can't remember having seen it like this before."
"Just look at the stuff coming down, will you?" remarked Fred. "There is
a whole lot of good firewood going to waste."
"I guess some one will pick it up by the time it reaches the lake,
Fred," said Randy. "There are a lot of poor people down at Haven Point
who get all their Winter firewood from this river."
"Yes, but it's not all driftwood," broke in Jack. "A good deal of the
timber is cut up in the woods and then floated down. That is quite an
industry among some of the old settlers up there."
The four cadets did not pause very long to survey the scene. Their one
idea was to find some sort of shelter from the storm; and with this in
view they hurried on parallel to the watercourse until they came to the
point of rocks commonly known as the Bend. Here the side of the river on
which they were located arose to a height of from twenty to thirty feet.
In one place there was a sheer rocky wall, but at other places the rocks
were much broken up, and consequently, irregular.
"There is the shelter I had in mind," said Fred, pointing with his hand.
"Come on; I think it will be just the place to get out of this storm."
"Any kind of a shelter will be better than standing out here," answered
Randy, and he and Fred set off on a wild scramble over the slippery
rocks with the others following.
"Be careful that you don't sprain an ankle or break a leg," warned Jack.
"Gee! a fellow would have to be a regular grasshopper to jump over these
rocks," grumbled Randy, and he had scarcely uttered the words when he
slipped down, landing with a thump on his chest.
"Hurt?" queried Jack quickly.
"N-no," spluttered his cousin. "B-but I kn-kn-knocked the wind out of
m-me."
In a minute more the boys had reached the shelter of the rocks where
they overhung the Rick Rack River. Here they found a shelter several
feet above the madly rushing torrent. The place was twelve or fifteen
feet in length, and several feet in depth. Above them was a shelving
rock which, while it did not shelter them completely, did much to ward
off the heavy downpour of rain.
"Not as comfortable as a Morris chair in the library at school,"
remarked Andy, as he swished the water from his cap, "but it's a good
deal better than being in the open."
"Provided we do not have to stay here too long," returned his twin.
"What time is it, Jack? I didn't bring my watch with me."
"Quarter to five," announced the young captain, after consulting his
wrist-watch.
"We ought to be on our way to the Hall," said Fred. "I don't know what
Captain Dale will say if we are late."
"Oh, he'll excuse us when he learns the truth," answered Jack. "Just the
same, I'd give a good deal if we were back safe and sound at the school.
We certainly can't stay here all night, and it looks as if this storm
was going to be a lasting one."
"Maybe we are in for another couple of weeks of rain," growled Andy.
"Gee! I wish the Weather Bureau would go out of existence. They have
been predicting clearing weather for over a week, and it never came at
all."
Crouching down in the shelter of the overhanging rocks, the four cadets
made themselves as comfortable as possible. Over them and out on the
river swished the wind and the rain. Just below them the mountain
torrent boiled and foamed with increasing violence, showing that the
heavy downpour was making matters steadily worse.
"I shouldn't want to have a cabin on the edge of this stream," remarked
Fred presently.
"Not much!" exclaimed Andy. "You'd be in danger every minute of having
it floated away."
"Look there, will you?" cried Randy a moment later, as he pointed out in
the stream. "If that isn't a chicken-coop then I miss my guess!"
"You're right! And it's got one or two chickens in it!" burst out Jack.
"That shows that some of the farm lands up the river must be under
water," remarked Andy.
"Maybe we'll see a house or a barn coming down next," cried Fred. "Gee,
this certainly is some storm!" he added, as another flash of lightning
lit up the sky. Then came the thunder, rolling and rumbling along the
river and the mountains beyond.
A quarter of an hour passed, and while the wind blew as violently as
ever, it seemed to the impatient cadets that the rain was slackening a
little.
"Maybe it will let up in the next half-hour or so," remarked Jack
hopefully. "Then, if we strike out for the turnpike, we'll be able to
get down to the Hall in no time."
"Oh, sure! Only three miles through the mud; and of course that's
nothing," remarked Andy airily.
All of the boys were sitting in silence, wondering what their next move
would be, when Jack suddenly raised his hand as if to listen.
"What was it?" queried Randy quickly.
"I thought I heard a yell for help," was the reply. "Listen!"
All did so, and presently above the rushing of the wind heard a man's
voice. Then came a shrill scream as if from a younger person.
"Somebody is in trouble!" cried Fred. "Listen! He is calling again!"
All strained their ears, and once more heard the yells of the man borne
along by the rushing wind. Then came that other shrill cry, as if for
assistance.
"They are in trouble, all right!"
"Where are they?"
"That cry came from up the river. Whoever they are, they must be right
around the Bend."
"Come on! Let's see what it means."
With these and other exclamations the four Rover boys left the shelter
of the overhanging rocks and crawled along a stony pathway leading up
the watercourse. Soon they passed around the Bend, and then came within
sight of a scene which almost appalled them. A mass of wreckage
consisting of a small tree and a quantity of newly cut timber had come
down the stream and become caught among the jagged rocks above the Bend,
and in the midst of this wreckage, with the water rushing and foaming
all around them, were a man and a boy, struggling wildly to save
themselves from drowning!