MRS. DICK ROVER--CONCLUSION
"The day of days, Dick!"
"Right you are, Sam! And what a perfect day it is!"
"Oh, I had this weather made to order," came from Tom Rover, with a
grin.
"How do you feel, Tom?" questioned his big brother kindly, as he
turned away from the window to look at the lad who had been hurt.
"Oh, I'm as chipper as a catbird with two tails!" sang out the
fun-loving Rover. But his pale face was not in keeping with his words.
Tom was not yet himself. But he wasn't going to show it--especially
on Dick's wedding day.
All of the Rovers had come up to Cedarville and they were now stopping
at the home of Mr. Laning, the father of Grace and Nellie. As my old
readers know, the Stanhopes lived but a short distance away, and
nearby was Putnam Hall, where the boys had spent so many happy days.
Dora had left Hope as soon as it was settled that she and Dick should
be married, and she and her mother, and the others, had been busy for
some time getting ready for the wedding. Nellie and Grace were also
home, and were as much excited as Dora herself, for they were both to
be bridesmaids. The girls had spent several days in New York,
shopping, and a dressmaker from the city had been called in to dress
the young ladies as befitted the occasion.
Tom was to be Dick's best man, while Sam was to head the ushers at the
church--the other ushers being Songbird, Stanley, Fred Garrison,
Larry Colby, and Bart Conners. A delegation of students from
Brill--including William Philander Tubbs--had also come up, and were
quartered at the Cedarville Hotel.
The wedding was to take place at the Cedarville Union Church, a quaint
little stone edifice, covered with ivy, which the Stanhopes and the
Lanings both attended and which the Rover boys had often visited while
they were cadets at Putnam Hall. The interior of the church was a mass
of palms, sent up on the boat from Ithaca.
Following the sending out of the invitations to the wedding, presents
had come in thick and fast to the Stanhope home. From Dick's father
came an elegant silver service, and from his brothers a
beautifully-decorated dinner set; while Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha
contributed a fine set of the latest encyclopaedias, and a
specially-bound volume of the uncle's book on scientific farming! Mr.
Anderson Rover also contributed a bank book with an amount written
therein that nearly took away Dora's breath.
"Oh, Dick, just look at the sum!" she cried.
"It sure is a tidy nest egg," smiled the husband-to-be. "I knew dad
would come down handsomely. He's the best dad ever was!"
"Yes, Dick, and I know I am going to love him just as if I was his own
daughter," answered Dora.
Mrs. Stanhope gave her daughter much of the family silver and jewelry,
and also a full supply of table and other linen. From Captain Putnam
came a handsome morris chair, and Songbird sent in a beautifully-bound
volume of household poetry, with a poem of his own on the flyleaf. The
students of Brill sent in a fine oil painting in a gold frame, and the
girls at Hope contributed an inlaid workbox with a complete sewing
outfit. From Dan Baxter, who had been invited, along with the young
lady to whom he was engaged, came two gold napkin rings, each suitably
engraved. Dan had written to Dick, saying he would come to the wedding
if he had to take a week off to get there, he being then in Washington
on a business trip.
The wedding was to take place at high noon, and long before that time
the many guests began to assemble at the church. Among the first to
arrive was Captain Putnam, in military uniform, and attended by about
a dozen of the Hall cadets. George Strong, the head teacher, was also
present, for he and Dick had always been good friends. Then came the
students from Brill, all in full dress, and led by William Philander
Tubbs, bedecked as only that dudish student would think of bedecking
himself.
The Lanings and Mrs. Stanhope came together and the Rovers followed
closely. Soon the little church was packed and many stood outside,
unable to get in. The organ was playing softly.
Suddenly the bell in the tower struck twelve. As the last stroke died
away the organ peeled forth in the grand notes of the wedding march.
Then came the wedding party up the middle aisle, a little flower girl
preceding them. Dora was on her uncle's arm, and wore white satin,
daintily embroidered, and carried a bouquet of bridal roses. Around
her neck was a string of pearls Dick had given her. The bridesmaids
were in pink and also carried bouquets.
Dick was already at the altar to meet his bride, and then began the
solemn ceremony that made the pair one for life. It was simple and
short, and at the conclusion Dick kissed Dora tenderly.
The organ pealed out once more, and the happy couple marched from the
church, everybody gazing after them in admiration.
"A fine couple," was Captain Putnam's comment. "A fine couple, truly!"
"Yes, indeed!" echoed George Strong. "I wish them every happiness."
"A perfectly splendid wedding, don't you know!" lisped William
Philander Tubbs. "Why, I really couldn't run it off better myself!"
"It was all to the merry!" was Stanley's comment. "She's a dandy girl,
too--wish I had one half as good."
"Dick Rover deserves the best girl in the world," was Songbird's
conclusion. "He is the finest fellow I know, barring none."
"I suppose you'll get up a poem about this, Songbird," suggested one
of the other students.
"Perhaps," was the answer, and the would-be poet smiled in a dreamy
fashion.
"It seems only yesterday that the Rover boys came to the Hall,"
remarked Captain Putnam, to one of his friends. "My, how the years
have flown!"
"But they are still boys--at least Tom and Sam are," was the ready
reply. "And Tom is just as full of sport as he ever was--I don't
believe he'll ever settle down."
"Time will tell. But with all his fun he is a good lad at heart--and
that is what counts."
"Right you are, Captain Putnam. I wouldn't give a rap for a lad who
didn't have some fun in his make-up."
"All of them had plenty of fun while they were at my school. They cut
up a good deal sometimes. But I liked them all the better for it,
somehow," concluded the captain, with a twinkle in his eyes.
Carriages and automobiles were in waiting, and Dick and his bride,
along with their relatives and many friends, were quickly whirled away
to the Stanhope home. Here followed numerous congratulations,
interspersed with not a few kisses. Mrs. Stanhope's eyes were still
full of tears, but she smiled at her newly-made son-in-law.
"It's all right, Dick!" she whispered. "I'm not a bit sorry. But--but
a woman can't help crying when she sees her only girl getting
married."
"You are not going to lose Dora," he answered, tenderly. "You are
going to get a son, that's all."
A long table had been spread, from the dining-room to the
sitting-room, with another table in the library, and soon a grand
wedding dinner was in progress. Dora sat at her husband's side, and
never did a pair feel or look more happy. Close at hand was Tom,
paying his attentions to Nellie, and at the smaller table Sam was
doing his best to entertain Grace. Mr. Anderson Rover sat beside Mrs.
Stanhope, and not far away were the others of the families.
"Well, they are married at last," said Mr. Rover to Mrs. Stanhope. "I,
for one, am well satisfied. I think they will get along well
together."
"Yes, Mr. Rover, I think they will get along finely," answered Mrs.
Stanhope. "I liked Dick from the first time I met him--and Dora--well,
there was nobody else after he came into view," and she smiled
faintly. Then her eyes traveled over to where Tom and Nellie were
talking earnestly, and his followed. "I think that is another pair,"
she whispered.
"I shouldn't wonder," was the reply. "But they can wait a while. Tom
is rather young yet."
"He looks rather pale."
"Yes, that blow he received on the head was a severe one. I am worried
about it," went on Mr. Rover, soberly.
It had been arranged that Dick and Dora should depart on a honeymoon
trip to Washington late that afternoon. The dinner over, the rooms
were cleared, and the young folks enjoyed themselves in dancing, an
orchestra having been engaged for that purpose.
"How perfectly happy they all seem to be!" remarked Aunt Martha to
Anderson Rover, as they sat watching the dancing.
"Yes," he answered. "I trust that nothing happens to make it otherwise
after this."
"Oh, something is bound to happen to those boys!" murmured the aunt.
"You simply can't hold them in!" And something did happen, and what is
was will be related in the next volume of this series, to be entitled:
"The Rover Boys in Alaska; Or, Lost in the Fields of Ice." In that
book we shall learn how Tom suddenly lost his mind and wandered away
from home, and what strenuous things happened to Dick and Sam when
they went after their brother.
But for the time being all went well. The young folks danced to their
hearts' content, and Tom kept them roaring over the many jokes he had
saved up for the occasion. His head ached a good deal, but he refused
to let anybody know about it.
Then came the time for Dick and Dora to depart. An auto was at the
door, gaily decorated with white ribbons, and bearing on the back a
sign painted by Tom which read, "We're Just Married." Another auto was
in the backyard, to take some of the guests to the steamboat dock.
"Good-bye!" was the cry, as the pair came down the stairs, ready for
the trip. "Good-bye and good luck!" And then came a generous shower of
rice and several old shoes. Dora kissed her mother for the last time
and she and Dick hurried to the auto. Away they went, and the other
auto after them, Tom and Sam and some others tooting horns and the
girls shrieking gaily.
"To the steamboat dock, I suppose," said the driver of the auto, to
Dick.
"Not much!" cried the newly-married youth. "Here is where we fool
them. Straight for Ithaca, and as fast as the law allows!"
"I get you," replied the chauffeur, grinning.
"We want to catch the seven-forty-five train for New York," went on
Dick.
"We'll do it, sir," was the answer, and then the auto driver turned on
the speed, made a whirl around a corner of the road, and in a minute
more was on the way to Ithaca, with the second car far behind.
"Hello! he's given us the slip!" cried Sam, in dismay.
"Never mind, let them go!" whispered Grace.
"Yes, we've had fun enough," added Nellie. "Oh, what a grand wedding
it has been!" she added, with a sigh. And then, when Tom squeezed her
hand, she blushed.
In the other automobile, Dora and Dick sat close together on the back
seat. Under the robe her hand, the one with the wedding ring upon it,
was clasped tightly within his own.
"Glad?" he whispered.
"Perfectly," she answered.
THE END
End of Project Gutenberg's The Rover Boys in New York, by Arthur M. Winfield