SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
It was a time of extreme peril, and it is doubtful if any one realized
that more than did Jack Rover. He, too, had been thrown down, and across
his legs was sprawled the heavy form of Fatty Hendry. It was the
toppling over of the fat youth which had caused one of the cracks which
were now so numerous in the ice.
"Hi! get off of me!" yelled Jack, and managed to pull one of his legs
free; and with this he pushed the fat youth to one side.
"Help! help! We're going down!" came in a scream from May Powell.
The ice had become depressed where she and Ruth Stevenson stood, and
both were already in a half inch of water.
"Scatter! Everybody scatter!" cried Professor Brice, and then rushed to
one side, to rescue several little boys and girls.
"Come on, Jack, we've got to help those girls!" cried Randy, and caught
his cousin by the arm, thus assisting him to his feet. Then off the
pair skated, with Andy and Fred behind them, all bent on going to the
assistance of the girls from Clearwater Hall.
Now, I know quite well that to the readers of the former volumes in
these two "Rover Boys Series," all of the Rovers, both old and young,
will need no introduction. But for the benefit of those who have not
perused any of the previous volumes in this line, a few words concerning
our characters will not be amiss.
In my first volume, entitled "The Rover Boys at School," I told how
three brothers, Dick, Tom and Sam Rover, had been sent off to Putnam
Hall Military Academy, where they made a host of friends, including a
manly and straightforward cadet, named Lawrence Colby. From Putnam Hall,
the Rovers were sent to Brill College, and after leaving that
institution of learning they went into business in Wall Street, New York
City, where they organized The Rover Company, of which Dick was now
president; Tom, secretary; and Sam, treasurer.
While at Putnam Hall the three Rovers had become acquainted with three
charming girls, Dora Stanhope and her cousins Nellie and Grace Laning.
This acquaintance had ripened into loving intimacy, and when Dick went
into business he had made Dora Stanhope his life-long partner. A short
while after this Tom married Nellie Laning and Sam married Grace.
When first married, Dick and his beautiful wife Dora had begun
housekeeping in a small apartment, but a few years later the three
brothers had purchased a plot of ground on Riverside Drive, overlooking
the Hudson river, and there they had built three handsome houses, Dick
living in the middle house, and Tom on one side and Sam on the other.
Before the young people had moved into the new homes, Dick and Dora
became the proud parents of a little son, who was named John, after Mr.
Laning. The son was followed by a daughter, Martha, so named after her
Great Aunt Martha of Valley Brook Farm, where the older boys had spent
many of their youthful days. Little Jack, as he was called, was a bright
lad with many of the qualities which had made his father so well liked
and so successful in life.
About the time Jack's sister Martha was born, Tom and Nellie Rover came
forward with twin boys, one of whom they named Anderson, after his
grandfather, and the other Randolph, after Uncle Randolph, of Valley
Brook Farm. Andy and Randy, as they were always called for short, were
exceedingly clever and active lads, in this particular being a second
edition of their father. Andy was usually saying things that were more
or less funny, and Randy thought that playing some trick was the finest
thing in the world.
"You can't find fault with those kids, Tom," Dick Rover said more than
once. "They are chips off the old block."
"Well, I suppose they are," Tom Rover would reply, with a twinkle in his
eye. "But if they never do anything that is really mean or harmful, I
won't care."
About the same time the twins were born, Sam and Grace Rover came along
with a beautiful little girl, whom they named Mary, after Mrs. Laning.
Then, a year later, the girl was followed by a sturdy little boy, who
was christened Fred, after Sam Rover's old school chum, Fred Garrison.
Living so close together--the three stone mansions on Riverside Drive
were connected--the younger generation of Rover boys, as well as the
girls, were brought up very much like one big family. The winters were
spent in New York City, while during the summer the young folks were
generally bundled off to Valley Brook Farm, where their grandfather,
Anderson Rover, still resided with his brother Randolph and wife
Martha.
At first both the girls and the boys had been sent to private schools in
the metropolis. But the boys showed such a propensity for "cutting up,"
as Dick Rover expressed it, that the fathers were compelled to hold a
consultation.
"The best thing we can do is to send them to some strict boarding
school," was Dick Rover's comment, and in this the brothers agreed.
Some time before, their old school chum, Lawrence Colby, who had since
become a colonel in the state militia, had opened a military academy,
which he called Colby Hall. The place was gaining an enviable reputation
as a first-class institution of learning, being modeled after Putnam
Hall, which, in its day, had been run somewhat on the lines of West
Point.
"We'll send them to Colby Hall," had been the decision of the older
Rovers, and to that place Jack, Andy and Randy, and Fred had gone, as
related in detail in the volume entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall."
The military school presided over by Colonel Colby was located about
half a mile from the town of Haven Point, on Clearwater Lake, a
beautiful sheet of water about two miles long and half a mile wide. At
the head of the lake was the Rick Rack River, running down from the
hills and woods beyond. The school consisted of a large stone building
shaped somewhat in the form of a cross, the upper portion facing the
river. It was three stories in height, and contained, not only the
classrooms and the mess hall, but also the dormitories and private rooms
for the scholars. To one side was a brick building, which at one time
had been a private dwelling, but which was now occupied by Colonel Colby
and his family and some of the professors. On the opposite side was a
new and up-to-date gymnasium. Down at the water's edge were a number of
small buildings used as boathouses and bathhouses. Behind the Hall were
a stable and a barn, and also a garage; and still further back there
were a large vegetable garden and numerous farm fields.
On their arrival at Colby Hall, the Rover boys had found several of
their friends awaiting them. One of these was Dick Powell, the son of
Songbird Powell, a former schoolmate of their fathers, a fellow who was
usually called Spouter because of his fondness for making speeches.
Another lad was Gifford Garrison, usually called Gif for short, who was
at the head of the school athletics. Gif was the son of Fred Garrison,
after whom Fred Rover had been named.
They also made friends of a number of others, some of whom we have
already met. These included Walter Baxter, the son of Dan Baxter, who
in years gone by had been an enemy to the older Rovers, but who had long
since reformed.
Before coming to Colby Hall Jack Rover had had a quarrel in New York
with a tall, dudish youth named Napoleon Martell, and this had almost
led to a fight. Nappy Martell, as he was usually called by his cronies,
was a pupil at the military academy, and soon he and his crony, a big,
overgrown bully, named Slogwell Brown, did what they could to make life
miserable for all of the Rovers. But in one of their dirty tricks they
over-reached themselves, and as a consequence they had been exposed and
sent away from the institution of learning for the time being.
"But they are coming back," Walt Baxter had told the Rover boys; "and
they say when they do, they will make it hot for you."
"Well, when Slugger and Nappy return we will be ready for them," had
been Jack Rover's reply.
"And the next time we won't be as easy on them as we were before," Fred
had added.
All of the cadets formed a battalion of several companies, commanded by
one of the older cadets, Major Ralph Mason. The Rovers took to the
military drill and general exercises readily, and soon learned how to
march and how to handle a gun. They enjoyed drilling very much--in
fact, they enjoyed it more than they did studying, although all of them
were good scholars.
As has been stated, Colby Hall was located about half a mile out of
Haven Point. On the other side of the town was located Clearwater Hall,
a boarding school for girls. During a panic in a moving picture theater
in the town, Jack and his cousins had become acquainted with a number of
these girls, including Ruth Stevenson and May Powell. After that the
four boys had taken four of the girls rowing on the lake and on other
outings, and through this had become quite well acquainted with a number
of the Clearwater Hall pupils. Jack was particularly interested in Ruth
Stevenson, and thought her a very beautiful and entertaining young lady.
The others did not seem to have any particular preference, although Fred
was often seen to side up to May Powell, the entertaining cousin of
Spouter.
And now, having introduced these young ladies in a proper manner, let us
return to them at the time when they were struggling on the ice and in
the midst of the frightened crowd rushing hither and thither, striving
to save itself from being immersed in the icy waters of the lake.
"Oh! oh! What shall we do?" cried May in terror, as she clung to her
companion's arm.
"Come on! We'll have to skate away from here!" burst out Ruth. "Come!
let us see if we can't get to shore," and she started off, her companion
still clinging to her.
In the meanwhile, Jack and Randy were skating as fast as possible in the
direction where they had seen the two girls. But now a crowd of cadets
and town folks swept in front of them, and the next instant Randy was
hurled flat on his back and went spinning across the smooth ice.
By this time one of the spots on the lake had broken through, and the
water was rapidly rising all around it and covering the sinking surface.
Men, women and children mingled with the cadets and hurried in all
directions, but most of them toward the shore.
"Come on! We've got to help those girls somehow!" panted Jack, as he
skated over to where Randy had been flung. He assisted his cousin to his
feet just as Fred and Andy flashed up.
"The girls! Don't you see them over there? They are going down!" yelled
Fred.
"Yes, I see them! Come on!" answered Jack.
As tired as he was because of the race, the oldest Rover struck out with
all the vigor he could muster. Soon he found himself sloshing through
water that was several inches deep. The next moment he stood beside the
two girls, who had become almost too frightened to move.
"Come on! Don't stand here!" he called, catching Ruth by the arm.
He looked back and saw that Fred and the others were close behind him,
and that Fred already had hold of May. Then he started off up the lake.
"Oh, Jack, hadn't we better head for the shore?" gasped the frightened
girl.
"No. There is too much of a crowd in that direction already," he
answered quickly. "If they don't look out they'll all go in. Come on!
The best thing to do is to get out where there isn't anybody."
He skated on, allowing the girl to rest on his arm as he did so. Soon
they seemed to be out of the danger zone, and then he looked back.
The sight that met his gaze filled him with new alarm. Fred had been
skating with May close beside him, but their feet had caught in one of
the new cracks, and both of them had gone down headlong. Andy and Randy
had been close behind, and now they too went sprawling, while the ice
cracked ominously, as if ready to let them down into the water at any
instant!