BONFIRE NIGHT
Such a glorious baseball victory as this could not be passed off lightly
by the cadets of Colby Hall. They arranged for a grand celebration that
night, with bonfires along the river front and a generous collation
served in the gymnasium. They were allowed to invite a few of their boy
friends, and all made the most of it.
"It's a pity we can't have you girls," said Jack, when they were parting
with Ruth and the others.
"Never mind, Jack; I'm happy to think that you won the game," answered
the girl.
"Yes, and we're extra happy to think that you got the best of that
awfully conceited Tommy Flanders," added May.
Late in the evening the boys cut loose to their hearts' content, neither
Colonel Colby nor Captain Dale having a mind to stop them.
There were only two boys in the school who did not appreciate the
celebration. One was Stowell, who was caught by some of his tormentors
and dusted from head to foot with flour, and Leeds, who had been so
pessimistic regarding the school winning. Leeds had said altogether too
much, and as a consequence a big fool's cap was placed on his head and
he was marched around the campus riding on a rail and then dumped
unceremoniously into the river.
"And don't you dare swim out until you promise after this to believe in
Colby Hall and root for her first, last, and all the time!" shouted one
of the cadets on the shore.
"All right, I'll promise! I'll promise anything!" spluttered Leeds.
"Only let me get out of this." And then he climbed up the river bank
and, dripping with water, made a wild rush for the back entrance to the
school.
Of course there was a good deal more of horseplay, and it can be
surmised that Andy and Randy went in for their full share of it. Even
Job Plunger was caught by the crowd and hoisted on the top of a barrel
which was waiting to be placed on one of the bonfires.
"Speech, Shout! Speech!" cried Andy gaily.
"Tell us what you know about ball playing in the olden times," suggested
Ned Lowe.
"You let me down off of this barrel!" cried Plunger, in alarm. "You let
me down before this barrel caves in!" and poor Shout, as he was so often
called, looked anything but comfortable as he balanced himself on the
top of the barrel.
"We've got to have a speech, Shout. Come on, you know you are a
first-class talker when you get at it."
"What is it you boys want?" demanded the janitor, with his hand over his
ear.
"Give us a speech, a _speech_!"
"Teach! I never did teach! What are you talking about?"
"We didn't say _teach_!" screamed Andy. "We said
speech--talk--words--sentences--_speech_!"
"Oh, you want me to make a speech," and Plunger looked rather vacantly
at the crowd. "I can't do it. I ain't got nothing to say. I want you to
let me go. I've got a lot of work to do, with cleaning up that mess in
the gym, not to say anything about the mess you fellers made down to the
barn getting that stuff out for them fires."
"If he won't give us a speech, let us give him a ride," cried Dan
Soppinger.
"What shall we ride him in?" questioned Walt Baxter.
"I've got it!" burst out Andy quickly. "Just keep him here a few minutes
longer, fellows. Come on, Randy, quick!"
Sure that something was in the wind, Randy followed his brother out of
the crowd and both made their way toward the back end of the gymnasium.
Here there was a room in which Si Crews, the gymnastic instructor, kept
a number of his personal belongings. Si had been the instructor since
Colby Hall had been opened, and his wife was the matron for the smaller
boys.
"Mrs. Crews has a baby carriage belonging to her sister stored away in
that room," explained Andy, as he and his brother hurried on. "I saw
them put it there only a few days ago. It's a rather old affair, but I
think it is strong enough to give Shout a ride in."
The lads found the door to the storeroom unlocked, and by lighting a
match saw the baby carriage standing there just as left by Mrs. Crews.
It contained a pillow, and also a baby shawl and a cap.
"Hurrah! now we'll be able to dress Shout up for the ride," said Randy
gaily.
It took but a few minutes to haul the baby carriage out and start it on
its way down to where the crowd surrounded the school janitor. A shout
of satisfaction went up when the other cadets saw the little vehicle,
and another shout arose when Andy picked up the shawl and Randy followed
with the baby cap.
"Here you are, Shout!" came from Walt Baxter. "Now we'll be able to
dress you up fine for your ride," and before the astonished and
bewildered janitor could resist, he was hoisted from the barrel and
placed in the baby carriage, where the lads proceeded not only to strap
him in but also to tie him down with a bit of clothesline which was
handy. Then they tied the baby cap on his head and pinned the shawl
around his shoulders.
"Music! Music for the procession!" called out Fatty Hendry. "Somebody
got a drum and fife!" and immediately several of the cadets ran off to
do as bidden.
In a few minutes more the procession started, headed by two boys
carrying torches and followed by a youth with a bass drum and another
with a fife. Back of them came the baby carriage drawn by a full dozen
of cadets and steered in the rear by Andy and Randy. On each side of the
carriage marched a cadet with a torch, so that the curious turnout might
be properly illuminated. In the rear was a motley collection, laughing
and joking and cutting up generally.
"Hi, you! You let me go! I don't want no ride!" cried Plunger wildly.
"This ain't no way to treat me at all!"
"Oh, you need the air, Shout," answered Randy. "Besides, see the
shoeleather you are going to save by getting a ride instead of walking."
The poor janitor struggled to free himself, but all in vain, and to the
noise of the drum and the fife and with many shouts of laughter the
whole outfit moved around the school twice and then around the
gymnasium.
"And now for a final celebration!" exclaimed Randy, when the crowd came
to a halt near the river front. "Everybody attention! One--two--three!
Listen to the stillness!"
Wondering what was going to happen next, all came to a standstill and
listened.
_Bang!_
A large firecracker set off directly under the baby carriage flew in all
directions. As it went off poor Plunger gave a shriek of terror and then
tried so hard to free himself that the carriage was overturned and he
found himself snarled up in a bunch on the grass. Then the boys, not
wishing to see the man hurt, rushed forward and released him, and he
lost no time in disappearing inside the gymnasium.
"Hurrah! that was a grand finale," cried Fred. "Where did you get the
firecracker, Andy?"
"It was out of a bunch I bought for the Fourth of July," was the reply.
After this celebration matters moved along swiftly toward the close of
the term. During that time the Rover boys heard from their mothers in
New York that their fathers were expected home in about ten days. They
immediately called up the girls at Clearwater Hall, and learned that
Mary and Martha had received the same news.
"And won't I be glad to go home and see dad!" said Martha to her
brother.
"No more glad than I'll be," he returned quickly.
It was now early Summer, and many of the cadets were in the habit of
spending a part of their off time either bathing or rowing. Before going
to war Colonel Colby had promised to get two motor-boats for the use of
the cadets, but as yet these had not been purchased. But rowboats were
numerous.
"I'll have the motor-boats here by Fall, however," said Colonel Colby,
in speaking of this. "And then you can have a lot of fun with them."
There was one more Saturday to be spent at school before breaking up for
the term, and the Rovers and their chums had decided to spend that
afternoon with the girls in an outing on the lake.
"Mary and some of the others want to go over to Bluebell Island," said
Fred. "They say there are some very fine ferns to be had there, and they
thought maybe they would have a chance to take some of the ferns home."
"All right, we'll take them wherever they want to go," answered Jack;
and so it was arranged.
Bluebell Island was located a distance down the lake, not far from
Foxtail Island, where the young folks had previously had an outing, as
related in the volume entitled, "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall."
At that time a squall on the lake and an encounter with a log raft had
placed all of the young people in great peril, from which Slugger Brown
and Nappy Martell had refused to rescue them.
It had been decided that the boys should row from Colby Hall down the
lake to the dock at Clearwater Hall and there take the girls on board.
They had three boats, one containing Jack and Fred, another the twins,
and a third Gif and Spouter.
"It's certainly one grand day for this outing," remarked Fred, as they
set off. All were good oarsmen, so the rowboats made rapid progress in
the direction of the girls' school.
"I had the day made to order," sang out Andy. And then he added, with a
grin: "It never rains when I go out unless the water happens to be
coming down."
The cadets had informed Martha and the others when they would arrive,
and when they reached the dock they found six girls waiting for them,
each with a carefully-tied-up shoebox under her arm.
"Yum, yum! I smell something good to eat!" exclaimed Andy, on catching
sight of the boxes.
"Got any mustard pie?" added Randy. "Excuse me, I mean custard pie."
"No, we've got straw pie for you, Mr. Smarty," called out Alice
Strobell.
Jack noticed that Martha and Mary looked rather thoughtful when they got
into the rowboat manned by Spouter and Gif.
"Anything wrong?" he asked anxiously.
"Not much, Jack," answered his sister. "I'll tell you just as soon as we
get to the island and we have a chance."
"Didn't you boys bring anything?" questioned Mary of the other Rovers.
"Sure we did! But that's a surprise," answered Fred. They had brought
fruit and candy.
"We brought two yeast cakes and a fried-onion sandwich," broke in Andy
gaily, and at this all the girls giggled.
Ruth and May were made comfortable in the boat rowed by Jack and Fred,
and they at once set off in the direction of Bluebell Island. The others
shortly followed, and all made good time across the placid bosom of
Clearwater Lake.
"I hope we don't encounter such a squall as we did before," remarked
Ruth presently.
"Oh, I'm sure it will stay clear," Jack hastened to reassure her.
In less than half an hour the young folks found themselves safe on the
island, which was about thirty acres in extent, with a grassy slope on
one side and rocks, trees and brushwood on the other. They tied their
boats securely, and then proceeded to walk across the island to where
they might take it easy under the trees or hunt for the ferns the girls
desired to get.
"Now then, what is it that is troubling you?" asked Jack of his sister
as soon as he could speak to Martha without the others noticing.
"Oh, Jack, I don't know whether it ought to trouble me or not," answered
Martha. "It was such a surprise. I didn't dream that those two fellows
would show themselves around Clearwater Hall."
"Who are you talking about, Martha?"
"Bill Glutts and Gabe Werner."
"When did you see them?"
"I saw them yesterday, and Mary saw them early this morning."