After this happening nothing of special interest occurred until Christmas. Then the cadets gave their usual entertainment, including a little domestic drama called “Looking for a Quiet Boarding House.” In this drama Tom and Larry acted the parts of two old maids who were taking boarders, while Dick, Sam, and eight others were the so-called boarders, or those looking for board. The play was filled with humorous situations, and the audience, in which were the Stanhopes and the Lanings, enjoyed it hugely.
“If you fail in everything else, you had better go on the stage, Tom,” said Nellie to that youth. “You make a splendid actor—or I should say actress,” and she laughed.
“How would you like to have me for a sister?” minced Tom, in the voice he had used in acting.
“Thank you, but I don’t want an old maid for a sister.”
“Then perhaps you don’t want to be an old maid yourself,” he retorted. “All right, I’ll see to it that you are spared that annoyance.” And then she boxed him playfully on the ears. She could not help but think a good deal of this open-hearted, fun-loving fellow.
After the entertainment the boys went home, to remain over New Year’s Day. Jack Ness, the hired man, met them at the railroad station in Oak Run and drove them through Dexter’s Corners to Valley Brook farm.
“It’s good fer sore eyes to see ye back,” said the hired man. “The folks is waitin’ fer ye like a set o’ children.”
When they came in sight of the farmhouse there were Mr. Rover, Uncle Randolph, and Aunt Martha all on the porch to receive them. Anderson Rover could not help rushing forward to embrace his sons, and the greetings of uncle and aunt were scarcely less affectionate.
“My own boys!” was all that Anderson Rover said, but the manner of speaking meant a good deal.
“The house is yours, boys,” said their Aunt Martha. “I used to think you were a bother, but now I’d rather have the bother than miss you,” and she smiled so sweetly that Dick gave her an extra hug.
“Yes, yes, do what you please, lads,” put in Randolph Rover. “I shall not be annoyed. We understand each other a great deal better than we did before we went to Africa, eh?”
“Right you are, uncle!” cried Tom. “We found you out to be a regular brick.”
Christmas presents were numerous, including some jewelry for all of the boys and a ring to replace the one Tom had lost, and some games, and half a dozen story books, not to mention other things more useful, as, for instance, some socks Mrs. Randolph Rover had, herself, made. For the aunt there was a new breastpin from the three boys, and for the uncle a set of scientific works just to his liking. For their father the lads had purchased a gold-headed cane, the stick of which was made of some wood they had brought with them from the banks of the Congo.
The time at home passed all too quickly, and soon it was necessary for the boys to return to Putnam Hall. Dora Stanhope and the Laning girls had not been forgotten, and now these young folks sent gifts of dainty embroidered handkerchiefs, of which the boys were very proud. Tom and Sam had sent Nellie and Grace two elegant Christmas cards. What Dick had sent Dora he would not tell. Being behind the scenes we may state that it was a tiny gold locket, heart-shaped, and that Dora treasured the gift highly.
The second week after New Year found them at the Hall once more, pegging away at their studies harder than ever, for they were bound to make the record their father desired of them.
But the time spent at school was not without its sport and fun, for there was plenty of sleighing and skating, and the gymnasium was always open during the off hours.
“No enemies at the Hall this season,” remarked Fred Garrison, “no Baxters or Cavens, or fellows of that sort.”
“No, and I am glad of it,” answered Dick. “It’s a big relief.”
“Have you any idea what became of Baxter?”
“Not the slightest.”
“And of Mumps, the fellow who used to be his toady?”
“Oh, Mumps reformed, after that chase on the ocean, and I’ve since heard that he went West, struck some sort of a job as a bookkeeper, or something like that.”
“Well, old Crabtree is safe. He won’t bother you any more,” concluded Fred, and there the subject dropped.
The weeks glided by quickly, until spring was at hand, and the green grass began to cover the bills and fields surrounding Cayuga Lake. Still the Rover boys pegged away, and it must be admitted that even Captain Putnam was astonished at their progress.
“They are whole-souled fellows,” he said to George Strong. “They put their whole mind into everything they go into.”
“And those are the boys who afterward make their mark in the world,” answered the head assistant. “The Rover boys are all right.”
CHAPTER XV
HOW ARNOLD BAXTER ESCAPED
“Well, I never!”
It was Dick Rover who uttered the remark, as he leaped from the chair in which he had been sitting, newspaper in hand.
“Never what, Dick?” drawled Tom lazily, looking up from a kite he was mending.
“Never saw anything to equal those Baxters. What do you think? Arnold Baxter has escaped from prison.”
“What!” ejaculated Tom, and on the instant the kite was forgotten, and Tom smashed it directly through the middle with his foot as he came to his brother’s side.
“Yes, he has escaped, and in the slickest manner I ever heard of. I tell you, Tom, he is a prize criminal, if ever there was one.”
“But how did he get out?”
“How? Why, just shook hands with his jailers, thanked them for their kindness, and then left.”
“Oh, pshaw, Dick, is this a joke? Because if it is, I want to remind you that we had the first of April last week.”
“It’s no joke, although Baxter ought to have played his trick on the first, true enough.”
“Well, what is the trick? You said he shook hands with his jailers and walked off. Of course, he couldn’t do that, unless his time was up.”
“But it wasn’t up—not by several years.”
“Then how did he do it?”
“By a trick, Tom—the neatest, cleverest, slickest ever performed in this State.”
“Oh, stow your long-winded speeches, Dick,” cried the younger brother half angrily. “Boil it down and serve the extract in short order.”
“Very well, I will. Firstly, Arnold Baxter is in jail. Secondly, he states his friends are going to ask the governor for a pardon. Thirdly, a friend in disguise comes to the jail with the supposed pardon. Fourthly, great joy of Baxter. Fifthly, he thanks his jailers and bids them good-by, as I said before. Sixthly, after he and his friend are gone the jailers inspect the so-called pardon. Seventhly, the jailers telephone to the governor. Eighthly, the pardon is pronounced a forgery, signatures, seal, and all. Ninthly, all the powers that be are as mad as hornets, but they can do nothing, for Baxter the elder has gone and has left no trace behind him.”
“Phew!” Tom emitted a long, low whistle.
“Say, but that runs like the half-dime novels I used to stuff myself with in my green days, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right, Tom, excepting that this is strictly true, while the half-dime novels used to be as far from the truth as a howling dog is from the moon. But seriously, I don’t like this,” went on the elder Rover earnestly.
“Neither do I like it.”
“Baxter at liberty may mean trouble for father and for us.”
“I begin to see now what Dan Baxter meant,” ejaculated Tom suddenly. “I’ll wager he knew all along what his father and the friend were up to.”
“I wonder who the stranger was? He must have been a very skillful forger to forge the governor’s signature and the other signatures too.”
“He must be some old pal to Baxter. Don’t you remember father said Baxter was thick with several fellows
in the West before he came out here?”
“Let us write to father about this at once.”
This was agreed to, and Dick began to pen the letter without delay. While he was at work Sam came in and was acquainted with the news.
“It’s just like the Baxters,” said the youngest Rover. “After this, I’ll be prepared to expect anything of them. I’d like to know where he has gone? Perhaps out West.”
“Out West?” cried Dick and Tom simultaneously.
“Certainly. Didn’t he swear to get the best of us regarding that mine matter?”
“By gum!” murmured Tom. “Dick, we can’t send that letter any too quick. Perhaps we had better telegraph.”
“Oh, father may have the news already.” Dick glanced at the newspaper again. “Hullo, I missed this,” he cried.
“Missed what?” came from both of the others.
“The paper says Baxter’s escape occurred several days ago. The prison’ officials kept it to themselves at first, hoping the detectives would re-capture the criminal.”
“And that paper was printed yesterday morning. At any rate, Baxter has had his liberty for at least five days. I must say I don’t like this at all. We’ll telegraph to father without delay.”
Looking out of the window Dick saw Captain Putnam walking on the parade ground. He ran down to interview the master of the Hall.
“Why, yes, you can go to Cedarville at once, if you deem it important,” said the captain. “Peleg Snuggers can drive you down.”
“Thank you, captain,” said Dick, and ran to the stables. He found the utility man at work cleaning out a stall, and soon had Snuggers hitching up. Inside of ten minutes Dick was on the way to town. As he bowled along, little did he dream of how long it would be before he should see dear old Putnam Hall again.
While passing the Stanhope cottage Dick saw Dora at work over a flower bed in the front garden.
“Just going to Cedarville on a little errand,” he shouted, and waved his hand to her, and she waved in return. In the back garden was Aleck, and the negro, flourished a hoe as a salute.
The telegraph office at Cedarville was not a large place, and but few private messages were received there. As Dick drove up the operator looked at him and at Snuggers.
“Hullo, I was just going to send a message up to your place,” he said to the utility man.
“All right, I’ll take it,” replied Snuggers. “You can pay me for the messenger service,” he added with a grin.
“Whom is the message for, if I may ask?” questioned Dick quickly.
“For Richard Rover.”
“That’s myself. Let me have it at once.”
“You are Richard Rover?” queried the operator, and looked at Snuggers, who nodded. “You came here just in time, then.”
The telegraph operator brought the message forth, and Dick tore it open with a hand that trembled in spite of his efforts to control it. He felt instinctively that something was wrong.
The telegram was from Mrs. Randolph Rover, and ran as follows:
“Come home at once. Your father and uncle attacked by unknown rascal who tried to ransack house. Uncle seriously hurt.
“Martha Rover.”
Dick’s heart seemed to stop beating as he read the lines. “Attacked by rascal who tried to ransack the house,” he murmured. “It must have been Arnold Baxter.”
“No bad news, I trust, Master Dick,” observed Snuggers.
“Yes, Peleg, very bad. Take this back to the Hall and give it to my brothers, and tell them I am going to Ithaca by the first boat, and there take the midnight train for home. Tell them to explain to Captain Putnam and then to follow me. Do you understand?”
“Well—I—er—I guess I do,” stammered the workingman. “Be you going home, then?”
“At once.” Dick turned to the operator.
“The boat for Ithaca is almost due, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir, in five minutes.”
“Take me to the wharf, Peleg, and hurry up about it.”
“Got to go, then?”
“I have,” and Dick leaped into the carriage. Peleg Snuggers saw that the young cadet was in earnest, and made the boat landing in less than three minutes.
The Sylvan Dell, a companion boat to the Morning Star, was on time, and Dick soon found himself on board and bound for Ithaca. He was too excited to keep quiet, and began to pace the boat from stem to stern.
“What’s up, my lad?” asked the captain, as he looked at the youth curiously.
“I am in a hurry to get home, sir.”
“Well, I’m afraid tramping around won’t hurry matters any,” and Captain Miller smiled broadly.
“Do you object to my walking around?” asked Dick, somewhat sharply.
“Oh, no; go ahead. I hope you haven’t heard any bad news,” went on the captain kindly.
“But I have heard bad news. My father and my uncle were attacked by some man who tried to ransack the house. My uncle was seriously hurt.”
“That’s bad. I trust they collared the villain.”
“No; I guess he got away, for the telegram I received said he was unknown.”
“It’s too bad. Do your folks live in the city?”
“No; at a country place called Valley Brook.”
“Then I doubt if they catch the rascal who did the deed. The country offers too good a chance to escape.”
“I mean to catch him if I can,” said Dick earnestly, and then the captain left him once more to himself. He thought that the boy had rather a large opinion of himself, but did not know that Dick already had a first-class clew to work on.
CHAPTER XVI
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ECLIPSE MINE
“Dick! Oh, how glad I am that you have come!”
Mrs. Randolph Rover rushed out to the porch to greet the boy as he came bounding up the steps, two at a time.
“I came as soon as I received the telegram,” he answered, as he embraced his aunt. “And how are father and Uncle Randolph?”
“Your father is not seriously hurt,—only a twist of his left ankle, where the burglar kicked him. But your Uncle Randolph—”
Mrs. Rover stopped and shook her head bitterly.
“Not dangerously hurt, I hope,” cried Dick, his heart leaping into his mouth, for as we already know, his eccentric old uncle was very dear to him.
“Yes, he is seriously hurt, Dick. He was struck in the head, and a fever has set in.”
“Can I see him?”
“Not yet. The doctor says he must be kept very quiet.”
“But he will recover, aunt?”
“I—I hope so, Dick. Oh, it was dreadful!” And the tears rolled down the woman’s pale face.
“I’m so sorry for you!” he exclaimed, brushing the tears away with his handkerchief. “So sorry. Where is father?”
“Up in the bedroom in the wing of the house.”
“I can see him, can’t I?”
“Oh, yes.”
Dick waited to hear no more, but ran up the stairs quickly, yet making no noise, for fear of disturbing his uncle, who was in a front room on the same floor.
“Father, can I come in?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes, Dick,” was the reply, and he went into the room, to find his father in a rocking chair, with his left foot resting on a stool. Mr. Anderson Rover’s face showed plainly that he had suffered considerable pain.
“Father, I am so glad it is no worse,” he said, as he took his parent’s hand. “Aunt Martha tells me Uncle Randolph is seriously hurt.”
“Yes, he got the worst of it,” returned Anderson Rover. “The blow was meant for me, but your uncle leaped in and caught its full force.”
“And do you know who the robber was?”
“No; he had his face well covered.”
>
“I think I can tell you.”
“You, Dick? Ah, you are thinking of that Dan Baxter. It was a man, not a boy; I am sure of that much.”
“Yes, it was a man, father. It was Arnold Baxter.”
“Arnold Baxter! You must be dreaming. He is in jail.”
“No, he has escaped; he escaped about a week ago.”
“Escaped?” Anderson Rover raised himself up, and would have leaped to his feet hid not his sprained ankle prevented him. “You are certain of this?”
“Yes,” and Dick related the particulars.
“You must be right. The man did look like Baxter, but I thought it impossible that it could be the same.” The elder Rover gave a groan. “Then the fat is in the fire for a certainty. And after all my work and trouble!”
“What are you talking about now, father?”
“That mining claim in Colorado—the Eclipse Mine, as Roderick Kennedy christened it.”
“But I don’t understand?”
“It’s a long story, Dick. You have beard parts of it, but not the whole, and to go into the details would do you small good.”
“But I would like to know something, father.”
“You shall know something, Dick.” Mr. Rover drew up his injured foot. “Oh, if only I could go after Arnold Baxter without delay!”
“It’s too bad you are hurt. Does it pain you very much?”
“When I try to stand on it the pain is terrible. The doctor says I must not use the foot for a month or six weeks.”
“That will make tedious waiting for you.”
“Yes, and in the meantime Baxter will try to cheat me out of that mining property, if he can.”
“But he won’t dare to show himself.”
“He will do the work through some other party—probably the man who helped him to escape from prison.”
“Did he get anything of value—papers, for instance?”
“Yes, he got most of the papers, although I still retain one small map, a duplicate of one which was stolen. You see, Dick, years ago Roderick Kennedy and myself were partners out in Colorado, owning half a dozen claims.”
“Yes; I’ve heard that before.”
“Well, one day Kennedy went off prospecting and located a very rich find, which he christened the Eclipse Mine. The claim was never worked, but he made a map of the locality, which he kept a secret. As his partner I was entitled to half of all of his discoveries, just as he was entitled to half of my discoveries.
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 53