SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
"Oh, Dick, are you hurt?"
The cry came from Tom, as he turned over on the ground and struggled to
his feet. He had seen his brother hurled backwards, and he saw that Dick
made no move to arise. He had been struck in the head, and blood was
flowing from a wound over his left ear.
"Oh, maybe he's killed!" gasped poor Tom, and then, for the moment he
forgot all about the flying machine, that was rushing so madly through
the air towards the Rover homestead. He hurried to his brother's side,
at the same time calling for others to come to his assistance.
To my old readers the lads already mentioned will need no introduction.
For the benefit of others let me state that the Rover boys were three in
number, Dick being the oldest, fun-loving Tom coming next, and sturdy
Sam being the youngest. They were the sons of Anderson Rover, a widower,
and when at home, as at present, lived with their father and their
Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha at a pleasant place known as Valley Brook
farm, in New York state.
While their father was in Africa on a mission of importance, the three
boys had been sent by their uncle to boarding school, as related in the
first volume of this series, entitled, "The Rover Boys at School." The
place was Putnam Hall Military Academy, and there the lads had made many
friends and also a few enemies.
From school the boys had made a short trip on the ocean, and then
another trip into the jungle after their father. Then had followed a
trip out West, and another on the Great Lakes. Later the youths had
camped out in the mountains during the winter, shooting quite some game.
Then they had returned to school, to go into camp during the summer with
the other cadets.
The boys by this time thought their adventures at an end, but more were
soon to follow. There came a long trip on land and sea, and then a
voyage down the Ohio River, and soon after this the Rovers found
themselves on the plains, where they had some adventures far out of the
ordinary. From the plains they went further south, and in southern
waters--the same being the Gulf of Mexico--they solved the mystery of
the deserted steam yacht.
"Now back to the farm for me!" Sam had said at this time, and all were
glad to go back, and also to return to Putnam Hall, from which seat of
learning they presently graduated with honors. Then Mr. Anderson Rover
got word of a valuable treasure, and he and the boys, with a number of
their friends, went to Treasure Isle in search of it. They were followed
by some of their enemies and the latter did all in their power to cause
trouble.
Although the boys had finished at Putnam Hall, their days of learning
were not yet over, and soon they set off for Brill College, a high-grade
seat of learning located in one of our middle-western states. They had
with them an old school chum named John Powell, usually called
"Songbird," because of his habit of making up and reciting so-called
poetry, and were presently joined by another old school companion named
William Philander Tubbs, a dudish chap who thought more of his dress and
the society of ladies than he did of his studies. Tom loved to play
jokes on Tubbs, who was generally too dense to see where the fun came
in.
From the college the boys had taken another trip, as related in the
fifteenth volume of this series, called "The Rover Boys Down East."
There was a mystery about that trip, of which the outside world knew
little, but as that trip has something to do with the events which are
to follow in this story, I will here give such details as seem
necessary.
When the Rover Boys went to Putnam Hall they met three girls, Dora
Stanhope and her two cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning. Dora's mother was
a widow, living not far from the school, and it was not long before a
warm friendship sprang up between Dick and Dora,--a friendship that grew
more and more intimate as the days went by. Dick thought the world of
Dora, and the two were now practically engaged to be married. As for Tom
and Sam, they had taken to the two Laning girls from the start, and
though Tom was too full of fun to pay much attention to girls, yet
whenever Nellie was mentioned, he would grow red in the face; and it was
noticed that whenever Grace was present Sam was usually on hand to keep
her company.
The treasure unearthed on Treasure Isle had belonged to the Stanhope
estate, the bulk of it going to Mrs. Stanhope and Dora and the remainder
to the Lanings, because Mrs. Laning was Mrs. Stanhope's sister. But the
treasure had been claimed by a certain rascal named Sid Merrick and his
nephew, Tad Sobber, and when Merrick lost his life during a hurricane at
sea, Sobber continued to do all he could to get the money and jewels
into his possession.
"It's mine!" he told Dick Rover one day. "It's mine, all mine, and some
day I'm going to get it!"
"You keep on, Tad Sobber, and some day you'll land in prison," had been
Dick's answer. "We found that treasure, and the courts have decided that
it belongs to the Stanhope estate, and you had better keep your hands
off."
But Tad Sobber was not satisfied, and soon he made a move that caused
the worst kind of trouble. There was a learned but unscrupulous man
named Josiah Crabtree who had once been a teacher at Putnam Hall, but
who had been discharged and who had, later on, been sent to prison for
his misdeeds. This Josiah Crabtree had once sought to marry Mrs.
Stanhope, thinking thereby to get control of her money and the money she
held in trust for Dora. The lady was weak and sickly, and the teacher
had tried to hypnotize her into getting married, and had nearly
succeeded, but the plot was nipped in the bud by the Rover boys.
Tad Sobber met Josiah Crabtree and the pair hatched out another plot,
this time to abduct Mrs. Stanhope, getting the lady at the time to bring
a good share of the treasure with her under the impression that it was
to be invested by her friends. The lady was carried off to an island in
Casco Bay, off the coast of Maine, and thither the Rover boys and some
others followed them. There was a good deal of excitement; but in the
end the lady was rescued and the treasure brought back. An effort was
made to capture Tad Sobber and Josiah Crabtree, but the two evildoers
managed to get away.
The home-coming of the boys with Mrs. Stanhope had been a time of great
rejoicing. Dora had embraced Dick over and over again for what he had
done for her mother, and Nellie and Grace had not been backward in
complimenting Tom and Sam on their good work. There had been a general
jubilee which had lasted several days.
"Splendid work, boys, splendid work!" Anderson Rover had said. "I am
proud of you!"
"Better work than the authorities could do," had come from Uncle
Randolph.
"Now that treasure had better be placed where no outsider can get his
hands on it," Mr. Rover had added. And soon after that it was put in the
strong box of a safe deposit company, there to remain until it could be
properly invested.
At Brill College the Rover boys had fallen in with a number of fine
fellows, including Stanley Browne and a German-American student named
Max Spangler. They had also encountered some others, among whom were
Dudd Flockley, Jerry Koswell and Bart Larkspur. Led by Koswell, who was
a thoroughly bad egg, the three last-named students had tried to get the
Rover boys into trouble, and had succeeded. But they overreached
themselves and were exposed, and in sheer fright Koswell and Larkspur
ran away and refused to return. Dudd Flockley was repentant and was
given another chance.
While on the hunt for Mrs. Stanhope, the Rovers had fallen in with
Koswell and Larkspur. But instead of getting aid from the pair, the
latter did what they could to help old Crabtree and Sobber. This brought
on a fight, and Koswell and Larkspur received a thrashing they would
long remember. The former college students might have been arrested,
but, like Crabtree and Sobber, they kept out of sight.
"They are sure a bunch of bad ones," had been Dick Rover's comment, when
referring to Crabtree, Sobber, Koswell and Larkspur. "I wish they were
all in jail."
"I reckon we all wish that," had been Sam Rover's reply. "It's an awful
shame that we didn't capture at least one of 'em."
"Well, we might have caught old Crabtree and Sobber if we hadn't broken
the engine of the motor-boat," put in Tom.
"Well, the engine was broken in a good cause," came from Dick. And he
spoke the truth, as my old readers well know.
Following the home-coming of the boys, and the general jubilee, our
heroes had settled down to enjoy themselves before going back to Brill.
They had intended to take it easy on the farm, but when a great aviation
meet was advertised to take place at the county seat they could not
resist the temptation to be present.
At this meet there were five flying machines,--three biplanes, a
monoplane, and a dirigible balloon. All made good records, and the Rover
boys became wildly enthusiastic over what they saw.
"Say, this suits me right down to the ground!" cried Tom.
"What fun a fellow could have if he had a flying machine and knew how to
run it!" had come from Sam.
"Exactly--if he knew how to run it," had been Dick's words. "But if he
didn't know--well, he might have a nasty tumble, that's all."
"Pooh, Dick! If those fellows can run these machines, so can we," had
been Tom's confident words.
"We know all about autos and motor-boats," Sam had put in.
"That's true, Sam. But a monoplane or a biplane, or any kind of an
aeroplane, isn't an auto or a motor-boat."
"Are you afraid?" demanded Tom.
"Oh, no! Only if we got a flying machine we'd have to be careful about
what we tried to do."
"Hurrah! It's settled!" cried Tom, who went headlong into everything.
"We'll get a machine to-morrow! How much do they cost?"
"I don't know--several thousand dollars, I fancy," answered his elder
brother.
"Boiled umbrellas, Dick! As much as that?"
"I think so."
"Why look at some of 'em," declared Sam. "Nothing but bamboo poles and a
few wires, and canvas,--and the engine!"
"Yes, but the poles, wires and canvas have to be put together just
right, Sam, and those engines are as powerful as they are light. And
then don't forget the propellers, and the steering outfit, and the other
things."
"Come on and ask one of the men about them," came from Tom; and a little
later they had a long talk with an aviator named Captain Colby, who
proved to be a relative to Larry Colby, one of their former chums at
Putnam Hall. He had heard about the Rover boys and some of their doings,
and willingly told them all they wanted to know.
The boys went home with their minds full of flying machines, and as the
Rovers were all well-to-do, and as the three lads had in the past proved
capable of taking care of themselves, it was not a very difficult matter
for them to persuade their father to let them buy a biplane. Then,
through Captain Colby, they learned where the flying machine could be
obtained, and the very next day bought the affair and had it shipped to
the farm, and also arranged with the aviator to visit them and give them
a number of lessons.
"We've got three weeks before we have to go back to college," Tom had
said. "If we are quick to learn we can have lots of fun in that time."
"Yes, and if we do learn, perhaps we can take the biplane to college
with us and astonish some of the students and the faculty," Dick had
added.
"That's the talk!" cried the youngest Rover. "We'll take it along!"
That morning Sam had gone off on an errand as already mentioned. Then
Dick and Tom had gotten out the flying machine and started up the engine
and the propellers. The ropes holding the biplane had broken or torn
loose from the ground, and now the machine had gone off with a wild
swoop, hurling poor Dick flat on his back and injuring him, how
seriously was still to be learned.