BACK FROM FRANCE
The journey to New York City was uneventful. They had to change cars at
the Junction, and here a number of the other cadets left the Rovers.
These included Gif and Spouter.
"Sorry you're not going down to the city with us," said Jack; "but I
suppose you are as anxious to see your folks as we are to see ours."
"Right you are," answered Spouter. And Gif nodded his head to show that
he agreed with his chum.
When the train rolled into the Grand Central Terminal at Forty-second
Street the Rovers found two automobiles awaiting them, and in the
turn-outs were the three mothers of the boys and girls.
"What's the news about dad, Ma?" burst out Jack, as he kissed his
parent.
"Have the soldiers come back yet?" was Fred's question.
"They haven't got in yet, but we are expecting them almost any time
now," answered Mrs. Dick Rover.
"We are just as anxious as you are to see them," came from Mrs. Tom
Rover, as both of her sons gave her a warm hug. "There, there! don't
smother me!" she added affectionately.
"Oh, it's so good to be home again!" exclaimed Mary. "Boarding school is
all well enough, but I'd rather be with you folks any time." Mary had
always been a good deal of a home girl.
The young folks piled into the cars, which were run by the Rovers'
chauffeurs, and in a moment more they were picking their way through the
crowded traffic in the direction of Fifth Avenue. They speeded up this
noted thoroughfare and then across town to Riverside Drive.
"What is the matter with your eyes, Jack?" questioned his mother
presently. "They look rather inflamed."
"Oh, I had a little run-in with one of our old enemies," returned the
young captain. "I'll tell you about it later."
"It's poor Ruth Stevenson that got the worst of it," broke in Martha.
"We may as well tell mother," she added. "She ought to know it."
"I wish you boys would stop making enemies," sighed Mrs. Rover. "Sooner
or later they may cause you a lot of trouble."
"Well, I don't consider that it is our fault," returned Jack. "It is no
more our fault than it was dad's fault to make an enemy of Dan Baxter
and his father, Arnold Baxter."
"Well, if only your enemies reform, as Dan Baxter reformed, that will be
something worth while," said his mother.
All of the mothers had made great preparations for the return of the
young people. Their rooms had been placed in order, and there were a
number of pretty and useful gifts for all of them. Then came a grand
reunion in the Tom Rover home, where an elaborate dinner was served that
evening.
"Gee! if only our dads were here to enjoy this with us," murmured Andy,
as he gazed upon the many good things spread before him.
"I'll bet they won't find any fault with home cooking after they get
back from the trenches in France," commented Randy, with a grin. "I'll
bet they've had to put up with all kinds of cooking."
"Yes, and sometimes they had to put up with cooking that wasn't," added
Andy.
"Cooking that wasn't?" repeated Mary, puzzled. "Oh! I know what you
mean--when they couldn't get anything."
A number of their friends came in during the evening to see them, and
the young folks had an enjoyable time dancing and in singing in a group
around the piano, which the girls took turns in playing.
"We'll have to have another and a larger gathering when our fathers get
home," declared Mary.
"Oh, won't we have the bully good time then!" cried her brother.
"Maybe they won't have some stories to tell!" piped in Andy.
"I want to hear all about how Uncle Dick won that medal," came from
Randy.
It was not until after eleven o'clock that the little gathering broke
up, and then Mrs. Dick Rover called her children to her.
"Now you must tell me about your eyes, Jack, and you, Martha, must tell
me about Ruth Stevenson's," she said.
Thereupon the young captain and his sister related the particulars of
what had occurred during the outing on Bluebell Island and what had been
done by Doctor Borden to relieve the sufferers.
"It was a vile thing to do!" exclaimed Mrs. Rover, her eyes showing her
displeasure. "Why, that Gabe Werner is nothing but a criminal! You can
be thankful, Jack, that you escaped as you did. But are you sure poor
Ruth's eyes are not permanently injured?"
"Her eyes looked a great deal better when we came away than they had,"
answered Martha. "Just the same, I'm greatly worried, and I know Jack is
too."
"Ruth is to write to us and let us know how she is getting along," went
on the oldest Rover boy.
"Ruth is such a splendid girl, and so fine looking, it would be a shame
if her eyes were hurt," continued Mrs. Rover. And this remark about Ruth
caused Jack to think more of his mother than ever.
Two days passed quickly, the boys and girls spending their time in
getting settled and renewing old acquaintances. The girls went shopping
with their mothers, while the lads visited the offices of The Rover
Company in Wall Street to see with their own eyes how matters were
going.
"Everything seems to be moving along swimmingly," remarked Jack, when he
and his cousins came away.
"I'll bet it will seem strange to our dads to settle down to the grind
once more after seeing so much fighting," remarked Fred.
"It will be hard for all of the soldiers and sailors to settle down, I'm
thinking," added Randy. "A fellow can't knock around here, there, and
everywhere for months and then come down to a regular routine all in a
minute."
That night the young folks retired rather early. Andy and Randy were
indulging in some horseplay in their bedroom when they heard the
door-bell ring.
"I'll bet it's a telegram from dad!" burst out Andy.
"Maybe it's dad himself!" answered his twin. "Come on down and see."
As they hurried down the stairs they heard their mother's room door open
and heard one of the servants going to the front door. The next instant
there was a cry from below.
"Mr. Rover! Is it really you!"
"It's dad! It's dad!" yelled the twins simultaneously, and fairly leaped
to the bottom of the stairs and ran to greet their father.
"Hello, boys! So you got home ahead of me, did you?" came from Tom
Rover, as he hugged and kissed each in turn. "My, how big you are
getting!"
"Tom! Tom!" cried his wife Nellie. And then she rushed down the stairs
as he rushed up to meet her. He caught her up in his strong arms as he
had been wont to do so many times in the past and fairly swung her above
him. Then he kissed her on each cheek and on the mouth and set her down
with his hands on her shoulders.
"This is what I've been waiting for, Nellie," he declared. "Just waiting
to see you again!"
"And I've been waiting too, Tom--waiting every day," she murmured, with
tears in her beautiful eyes.
In the meantime similar scenes were taking place in the adjoining
houses. Dick Rover, having a key, had let himself in unobserved, and
gave his wife quite a shock when he met her at the door to her room. But
she was overjoyed to see him, as were also Jack and Martha, and all
clustered around to listen to what he might have to say.
"Why, Dad, you are as brown as a berry!" declared the young captain.
"And look how tall and strong he seems to be!" put in Martha.
It was Mrs. Sam Rover herself who answered her husband's ring, and her
shout of joy quickly brought Fred downstairs. Mary had already retired,
but, leaping up, she threw a kimona around her and came flying down in
bare feet.
And then what a reunion there was among the members of all three
families! The doors which connected the three residences were thrown
wide open, and all gathered in the middle house. All seemed to be
talking at once, and boys, fathers and uncles shook hands over and over
again, while the girls and their mothers came in for innumerable hugs
and kisses.
"We are not yet mustered out," said Dick Rover. "But we expect to be
before a great while."
"You ought to be very proud of having done your bit for Uncle Sam," said
Mary to her father and her uncles.
"Well, I think our boys did their bit, too, if I am any judge," was Sam
Rover's fond comment. "First they helped to catch those chaps who blew
up the Hasley ammunition factory, then they aided in rounding up the
crowd who had the hidden German submarine, and lastly they prevented
those Huns from establishing that wireless station in the woods. I
certainly think they did remarkably well."
"But they've made some terrible enemies," broke in Mrs. Dick Rover.
"Just look at Jack's eyes. One fellow tried to throw pepper into them."
"Oh, let's not talk about that now, Ma!" cried the young captain. "I
want to hear all about what dad and Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam have been
doing in France."
"If we started to give you all the details we wouldn't get to bed
to-night," said his Uncle Tom, with a grin. They had already been
talking for quite a while, and the clock hands pointed to nearly one in
the morning.
"Oh, well, this is a red-letter night, Dad," broke out Randy.
"Such a coming together may not happen again in a lifetime," added his
twin.
Then the older Rovers told of many of their adventures, both while in
camp in France and during the time they had been on the firing line.
"We were in some pretty hot fights," admitted Tom Rover. "One in
particular--when we forced the Huns out of a stretch of woods they were
holding--none of us is liable to forget. That's the fight in which Sam
and I were wounded."
"Yes, and the day after they were wounded I was caught in a gas attack,"
said Dick Rover. "My! but that was something pretty nasty! I felt as if
somebody had me by the throat and at the same time was trying to twist
my stomach inside out. I never felt such a sensation in my life," and he
shook his head and sighed deeply over the recollection of what he had
passed through.
"Was that where you won your medal, Dad?" questioned Jack eagerly.
"No, my boy. The medal was won some time later, while your two uncles
were in the hospital trying to recover from their wounds. We made two
advances, and then were told to hold our new line. There was a fierce
bombardment early in the morning, and then, because of a mix-up of
orders, part of our command fell back while another tried to go forward.
One of our men, a fellow named Lorimer Spell, a queer sort of chap who
hailed from Texas, was hit by a piece of shell and knocked partly
unconscious. He was unable to save himself, and as I didn't want to see
him killed I ran out from behind our shelter and brought him in."