CHAPTER I A GAME OF BASEBALL
"Hurrah! that's the way to do it!"
"Now, then, Tom, see if you can't bring Dick home!"
"Give him a swift one, Frank! Don't let him hit it!" cried Sam Rover,merrily.
"I'll knock it down into the river!" retorted Tom Rover, as he caught upa bat and walked to the home plate.
"I'm waiting for you, Tom!" sang out Dick Rover, who had just reachedsecond base on a beautiful drive to right field. "Come now, it's time wetied the score."
"Everybody in the game!" yelled Stanley Browne, who was in the coacher'sbox. "Here is where we do 'em up!"
"Get ready to run, Dick!" came from Songbird Powell. "Tom is going toland it on the other side of the river."
"If he does that I'll walk home," answered Dick, with a grin.
"Now then, here is where Tom misses!" called out Sam, who was behind thebat, and he thumped his fist in his catcher's mitt. "Give him adouble-ender curve, Frank."
"Oh, I'll give him a regular corkscrew curl," retorted Frank Holden, whooccupied the pitcher's box. "Tom, prepare to die!" And he drew back topitch the ball.
Eighteen of the students of Brill College were having a game of baseballon the athletic field of that institution of learning. The regular seasonfor baseball was at an end, and the youths had fixed up their nines tosuit themselves, with Dick Rover as captain of one side and Frank Holdenas captain on the other. On Dick's side were his brother Tom, and anumber of their chums, while Sam was doing the catching for Frank.
It was only a friendly contest and all of the students were in the bestof spirits. The main examinations for the term were practically over, andin a few days more the students were to scatter for the summer vacation.
It was the ending of the fourth inning and the score stood 6 to 4 infavor of Frank Holden's nine. If Tom should manage to bring both Dick andhimself in it would tie the score. But Tom was not known for his home-runqualities.
Frank Holden made a signal to Sam and then sent in a low, swift ball. Tommade a swing at it. But he was too slow.
"Strike one!" sang out Will Faley, the umpire. "Try it some more, Tom."
Again the ball came in and this time Tom struck at it with all his might.
Crack! The ashen stick met the horsehide and the ball went whizzing offto the right of the home plate, in the direction of a number of studentswho were crossing the grounds.
"Foul!" sang out the umpire, as the sphere curved through the air.
"You can't get it, Sam!" called out Max Spangler. "It's too far offalready!"
"Look out, you fellows!" yelled Frank, from the pitcher's box. "If youdon't----"
Before he could finish the crowd walking across the grounds looked up andcommenced to scatter, to give Sam a chance to catch the ball, which hadgone quite high in the air. But before the youngest Rover could reach thesphere down it came--straight on the fancy straw hat of a dudish youth,crushing the article over its wearer's head.
"Whoop! there's a strike for you, Tom!" murmured Dick.
"Do you call that knocking the ball over the river?" demanded Songbird,dryly.
"Here's a case where a straw shows how the ball blows," misquoted StanleyBrowne.
"Hi! hi! what do you mean by smashing my hat!" roared Dudd Flockley, thestudent who had been thus assaulted. "Who did this, I demand to know?"
"I knocked the ball--but I didn't aim for your hat," answered Tom. And asDudd Flockley held up the damaged hat he could not help but grin.
"You did it on purpose, Tom Rover!" growled the dudish student. "Youneedn't deny it!"
"Nonsense, Dudd!" put in Stanley. "He wanted to make a home run--hewasn't aiming at your hat at all."
"I know better!" answered the other student, bitterly. "Say, Tom Rover,it's up to you to buy me a new hat," he added.
"All right, if that's the way you feel about it," answered Tom. "You getthe hat and I'll pay for it. But I didn't smash it on purpose, Dudd."
"That hat cost me five dollars, and I don't know where to get one likeit," growled the dudish pupil.
"Oh, I can tell you where to get a hat like that!" piped in a drawlingvoice. "Try the Melrose English Shop, on Broadway. They have all styles,don't you know."
"Good for William Philander Tubbs!" cried Dick. "He knows the directoryon straw hats."
"Huh! Think I'm going all the way to New York for a new hat?" growledDudd Flockley. "I want one to go home in."
"Maybe I can lend you an old one," suggested Tom, dryly.
"I don't want your old hat," growled Dudd Flockley. "I'll get a newone--and you can foot the bill!" and he turned and walked away, his facefull of sourness.
"The same old Flockley," whispered Sam to his brother. "After all we didfor him, too!"
"You beware of Dudd," put in Songbird, who was near. "He pretends to befriendly, since you put in a good word for him to the doctor, but, justthe same, he has got it in for you."
"Play ball!" called out the umpire; and then the ball was thrown down toFrank Holden, and the game went on. Tom gave one more glance in thedirection of Dudd Flockley and saw that the dudish student had stopped inhis walk, turned around, and was glaring at him savagely.
To my old readers the lads who have thus far taken a part in this storywill need no special introduction. But for the benefit of others who havenot read the former volumes in this "Rover Boys Series," let me statethat Dick, Tom and Sam Rover were three brothers, who, when at home,lived with their father, Anderson Rover, and their Uncle Randolph andAunt Martha, on a beautiful farm called Valley Brook.
From the farm, and while their father was in Africa, the three boys hadbeen sent to a military academy, as related in the first volume of thisseries, called "The Rover Boys at School." At the school they made alarge number of friends, and also a few enemies, and had "the best timeever," as Sam expressed it.
A term at school was followed by a trip on the ocean, as set down in thesecond volume of this series, and then by a journey to Africa, where theboys went to locate their father, who had become a captive of thenatives. After that came a trip out West, to locate a mine belonging tothe Rovers, and then trips to the Great Lakes, and to the mountains, andthen, returning to the school, the lads went into camp with the othercadets.
"I guess we had better settle down now," said Dick. But this was not tobe. Not much later they took a long trip on land and sea, and followedthis up by a voyage on the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers on a flatboat.Then came some thrilling adventures on the plains, and a little laterfound the dauntless boys in Southern waters, where they solved themystery of a deserted steam yacht.
"The farm for mine!" said Tom, after traveling north from the Gulf, andall of the boys were glad to take it easy for some weeks, and also getready to graduate from Putnam Hall. They had an idea they were to godirectly from the military school to college. But something turned upwhich made them change their plans.
Through Mr. Rover it was learned that a small fortune belonging to acertain Stanhope estate was missing. It had been secreted on an island ofthe West Indies, and it was settled that the Rovers and some of theirfriends should go in quest of it.
The boys were particularly anxious to locate this treasure, and with goodreason. While at Putnam Hall they had made the acquaintance of DoraStanhope and also of Nellie and Grace Laning, Dora's cousins. From thevery start Dick was attracted to Dora, and now the pair were practicallyengaged to be married. Tom had taken a particular liking to Nellie Laningand it must be confessed that Sam was equally smitten with Grace.
It was learned that the treasure had been willed to Mr. Stanhope, andconsequently, on his death, it had become part of his estate, which inturn had been willed in part to his wife and Dora, with a small share toMrs. Laning, his sister.
"We'll get that treasure and make the girls happy," declared Dick, andhow the whole crowd set off on the quest has already been told in thethirteenth volume of this series, entitled: "The Rover Boys on
TreasureIsle." The treasure was also claimed by two of their enemies, Sid Merrickand his nephew, Tad Sobber, and they did all they could to gainpossession of the valuables. But the treasure was at last brought safelyto this country, and then it was learned that Sid Merrick had been lostat sea in a hurricane. Tad Sobber was saved, and carried on a passingvessel to England.
"And now for college!" cried all of the Rover boys, and wondered to whatinstitution of learning they were to go.
"How would you like to go to Brill?" asked Mr. Rover. "It is a fineplace, located in one of our middle-western states, and the head of it,Doctor John Wallington, is an old friend of mine."
The boys had heard that Dora, Grace and Nellie were going to aninstitution known as Hope Seminary, not far from the town of Ashton. Assoon as they learned that Brill College was situated less than two milesfrom Hope they decided without hesitation to go to the institution theirparent had mentioned.
"We'll be near the girls, and we ought to have lots of good times," saidTom.
"It will be our own fault if we don't," Dick had answered.
How the brothers went to Brill has already been related in the volumeentitled "The Rover Boys at College." At Brill, as at Putnam Hall, theyquickly made a number of friends, not the least of whom were StanleyBrowne, Max Spangler, a German student, and Allen Charter, the leadingsenior. They also had with them their former school chums, John Powell,better known as Songbird because of his cleverness in writing andreciting doggerel, and William Philander Tubbs, a student whose entirespare time was spent in buying things to wear of the latest fashions, andin seeking the society of his young lady friends.
At Brill the Rovers soon came into contact with the dudish pupil, DuddFlockley, and also with two bullies, Jerry Koswell and Bart Larkspur. Ledby Koswell, who was a thoroughly bad egg, the three tried their best tomake trouble for the Rovers, and finally succeeded. But the rascalsoverreached themselves, and when they were exposed Koswell and Larkspurbecame so frightened that they ran away from Brill and refused to return.Dudd Flockley remained, and he pleaded so earnestly to be forgiven thatthe Rovers finally decided to drop the case against him, and spoke a goodword for him to the head of the college, and he was allowed to continueat Brill.
"I guess Flockley has learned his lesson," said Dick. But it looked as ifhe might be mistaken, for Flockley, as soon as he felt himself secure atBrill, acted in anything but a grateful manner. Yet he was not asassertive as he had been, for he missed the companionship and support ofhis former cronies.
With the fortune in their possession, and Sid Merrick dead, the Stanhopesand Lanings had felt secure of their wealth. But, returning from England,Tad Sobber had gone to a shyster lawyer, and put in a claim, and thelawyer had obtained a court injunction, restraining anybody from touchinga dollar of the money. This depressed the girls greatly, and made them,for a time, leave Hope. But in the end, the injunction was dissolved, andthe Stanhopes and Lanings were told that they could do as they pleasedwith the fortune.
"That's the best news yet!" Dick had said, on hearing it. "I guess thatwill put a spoke in Tad Sobber's wheel."
"It will take one out, you mean," returned Tom, with a sly grin. "Wonderwhat Tad will do next?"
"He can't do anything," had come from Sam. "He is knocked out clean andclear. I always said he had no right to the fortune. That claim of SidMerrick's was a fake pure and simple."
"I believe you," Dick answered. "Just the same, I feel, somehow, that Tadwon't give up even yet."
"But what can he do?" his two brothers had asked.
"I don't know--but he'll try to do something; see if he doesn't."
A few days later had come in some particulars of the case. After theinjunction had been dissolved Tad Sobber and his lawyer had gotten into abig row and Sobber had ended by blackening the legal gentleman's lefteye. Then Sobber had mysteriously disappeared, but the next day he hadsent a rambling letter to Mrs. Stanhope, stating that, even if thrown outof court, he considered that the fortune from Treasure Isle belonged tohim, and, sooner or later, he meant to gain possession of it.
"We'll have to watch out for Tad Sobber," had been Dick's comment, onlearning the news. "He is growing desperate, and there is no telling whathe will do next."
"He's the same old sneak he was at Putnam Hall," declared Tom.
"This will scare Mrs. Stanhope, and Mrs. Laning, too," had been Sam'scomment.
"And the girls," his oldest brother had added. "I wish we could round TadSobber up, and put him where he couldn't worry them any more."
"Maybe he'll drop out of sight," said Tom. But this was not to be. TadSobber was to cause a great deal of trouble, as we shall learn in thenear future. The young rascal had convinced himself that the Stanhopefortune belonged to him, and he meant to leave no stone unturned to getpossession of it.
The Rover Boys Down East; or, The Struggle for the Stanhope Fortune Page 3