“Back again!” cried Dick, as he mounted to the deck.
“Oh, Dick, are you safe?” cried Dora, rushing to him.
“Yes, and we have the treasure!” he answered proudly.
“Oh, how glad I am everybody is safe!” put in Nellie.
“We are all glad,” said Mrs. Stanhope. “The last forty eight hours have been so full of peril!”
Of course everybody has to tell his or her story, and for a long time there was a perfect babel of voices. Fred and Hans related how the steam yacht had been rescued from the clutches of the enemy, and how Frank Norton had taken command and prevented anything in the shape of a mutiny. The ladies and girls told of how they had been scared and how they had locked themselves up in a stateroom, as Bahama Bill had said. Then the Rover boys had to tell all about the finding of the great treasure.
“And just to think!” cried Tom. “It is worth more than we at first supposed!” And in his glee he hugged both Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs. Laning, and then hugged Nellie. Nellie herself was so excited she never even noticed it.
In the meantime, Captain Barforth was consulting with the chief engineer and learning some of the particulars of how the mate had acted and how the steam yacht had been chased by the tramp steamer.
“I trust I did what was proper, Captain Barforth,” said Norton, anxiously. “I tried to use my best judgment. From what Miss Stanhope overheard of the talk between Mr. Carey and that scoundrel of a Wingate I felt Mr. Carey was not the proper man to trust.”
“You did exactly right,” said the captain, “and what has happened since proves it. If Carey and Bossermann try to kick up any fuss I’ll tend to them.”
Mr. Rover was called into the consultation, and it was decided to leave the vicinity of Treasure Isle at once, before the Josephine should put in an appearance. It was a cloudy night, so they had to run with care and at reduced speed. They kept a constant lookout for the other vessel, but failed to sight her.
“Carey and Bossermann, as well as Ulligan, will have to remain on board of her,” said Captain Barforth. “Mr. Rover wants to get back to Philadelphia as soon as possible with the treasure, and she is under his charter. If they want to kick up a fuss later, why, they can do it, that’s all.”
“Homeward bound!” cried Sam, enthusiastically.
“And with the treasure safe on board!” added Tom. “It seems almost too good to be true.”
“And the enemy left behind,” put in Dick. “I hope they go back and hunt for the stuff,” he went on, with a grin.
His wish was fulfilled, as they learned a long time later, through one of the sailors composing the crew of the Josephine. The tramp steamer tried all of the next day to locate the steam yacht and then Sid Merrick ordered the craft back to Treasure Isle. Here, Merrick, Tad Sobber, Carey, Bossermann and several others worked for nearly a week trying to unearth the treasure, but, of course, without success. Then they had a quarrel with the Spaniard, Doranez, who would not keep sober. They accused the man of taking them to the wrong place, and in the fight that followed three men were seriously wounded. Then all went aboard the steamer and set sail for Cuba. The very next day the Josephine was caught in a hurricane, one of the worst experienced in the West Indies for many years. It drove the tramp steamer on the rocks, and before she could be gotten off several big holes were pounded into her and she went down. The sailor who told the story said he got away with four other sailors in a rowboat, and after a fearful experience lasting two days was picked up by a steamer bound for Havana. He did not know what had become of the others on board and was of the opinion that the most of them, if not all, had been drowned.
Fortunately for those on the steam yacht, the Rainbow weathered the hurricane well. The craft did a lot of plunging and pitching, and the ladies and girls had to keep below, but that was all. After the hurricane the weather became unusually fine, and the trip back to Philadelphia proved a pleasant one. Arriving at the Quaker City, Mr. Rover had the treasure deposited in a strong box of a local Trust Company, and later it was divided according to the terms of Mr. Stanhope’s will. This put a goodly sum in the bank for Dora and her mother, and also large amounts to the credit of Mrs. Laning and Nellie and Grace. The entire expenses of the trip were paid out of the treasure, and Captain Barforth and his men were not forgotten for their services. Mrs. Stanhope wanted to reward the boys, but not one would listen to this.
“Well, you are very kind,” she said, to all of them. “If at any time you are in trouble, come to me. I shall not forget you.” She, however, insisted upon presenting Dick with a new watch and chain and diamond pin to replace those stolen from him by Cuffer and Shelley.
“Well, that winds up the treasure hunt,” observed Tom, as the whole party were on their way home. “Now for the next move on the programme.”
“The next move is to go to school once more,” said Dick. And he was right, as we shall learn in the next volume of this series, to be entitled, “The Rover Boys at College; Or, The Right Road and the Wrong.” In that volume we shall meet many of our old friends once more, and learn the details of a plot against fun-loving Tom which had a most unlooked for ending. We shall also meet Dora and her cousins again, and see how they acted when their boy friends were in deep trouble.
The home coming for the Rover boys was full of pleasure. Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha were at the depot to meet them, and the aunt gave each the warmest kind of a hug and kiss, while the uncle shook hands over and over again. Nor were Anderson Rover and Aleck forgotten.
“Back again, and glad of it,” said Tom, as he flung his cap into the air. “The West Indies are all right, but give me Valley Brook farm every time.”
“So say we all of us,” sung out Dick and Sam, and here we will once again bid our friends goodbye.
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
CHAPTER I
ON THE TRAIN
“We’re making time now, Tom.”
“Making time?” repeated Tom Rover as he gazed out of the car window at the telegraph poles flashing past. “I should say we were, Sam! Why, we must be running sixty miles an hour!”
“If we are not we are making pretty close to it,” came from a third boy of the party in the parlor car. “I think the engineer is trying to make up some of the time we lost at the last stop.”
“That must be it, Dick,” said Sam Rover. “Gracious, how we are rocking!” he added as the train rushed around a sharp curve and nearly threw him from his chair.
“I hope we get to Ashton on time,” remarked Tom Rover. “I want to take a look around the grounds before it gets dark.”
“That’s Tom, wanting to see it all before he sleeps!” cried Sam Rover with a grin. “You look out, Tom, that you don’t get into disgrace the first thing, as you did when we went to Putnam Hall Don’t you remember that giant firecracker, and how Josiah Crabtree locked you up in a cell for setting it off?”
“Ugh! Will I ever forget it!” groaned Tom, making a wry face. “But I got the best of old Crabtree, didn’t I?” he continued, his face brightening.
“Wonder if we’ll make as many friends at college as we did at Putnam Hall,” remarked Dick Rover. “Those were jolly times and no mistake! Think of the feasts, and the hazings, and the baseball and football, and the rackets with the Pornell students, and all that!”
“Speaking of hazing, I heard that some of the hazing at the college we’re bound for is fierce,” came from Sam Rover.
“Well, we’ll have to stand for what comes, Sam,” answered his big brother. “No crying quit’ here.”
“Right you are, Dick,” said Tom, “At the same time if—Great Caesar’s ghost, what’s up now!”
As Tom uttered the last words a shrill whistle from the locomotive pierced the air. Then came the sudden gripping of the air brakes on the car wheels, and the express came to a stop with a shock that pitched all the passengers from their seats
. Tom and Sam went sprawling in a heap in the aisle and Dick came down on top of them.
“Hi, get off of me!” spluttered Sam, who was underneath.
“What’s the matter? Have we run into another train?” asked Tom as he pushed Dick to one side and arose.
“I don’t know,” answered the older brother. “Something is wrong, that’s certain.”
“Are you hurt, Sam?” asked Tom as he helped the youngest Rover to his feet.
“No—not much,” was the panting reply. “Say, we stopped in a hurry all right, didn’t we?”
With the shock had come loud cries from the other people in the car, and it was found that one young lady had fainted. Everybody wanted to know what was the matter, but nobody could answer the question. The colored porter ran to the platform and opened the vestibule door. Tom followed the man and so did Sam and Dick.
“Freight train ahead, off the track,” announced Tom. “We ran into the last car.”
“Let us go up front and see how bad it is,” returned Dick. “Maybe this will tie us up here for hours.”
“Oh, I hope not,” cried Sam. “I want to get to the college just as soon as possible. I’m dying to know what it’s like.”
“We can be thankful we were not hurt, Sam,” said his older brother. “If our engineer hadn’t stopped the train as he did we might have had a fearful smashup.”
“I know it,” answered Sam soberly, and then the boys walked forward to learn the full extent of the damage done and what prospects there were of continuing their journey.
To my old readers the lads just mentioned will need no special introduction, but for the benefit of those who have not read the previous volumes in this “Rover Boys Series” let me state that the brothers were three in number, Dick being the oldest, fun-loving Tom coming next and Sam the youngest. They were the sons of one Anderson Rover, a rich widower, and when at home lived with their father and an aunt and an uncle on a beautiful farm called Valley Brook.
From the farm, and while their father was in Africa, the boys had been sent by their Uncle Randolph to school, as related in the first book of the series, called “The Rover Boys at School.” At this place, called Putnam Hall, they made many friends and also a few enemies and had “the time of their lives,” as Tom often expressed it.
A term at school had been followed by a short trip on the ocean, and then the boys, in company with their uncle, went to the jungles of Africa to rescue Mr. Rover, who was a captive of a savage tribe of natives. After that came trips out West, and to the Great Lakes, and to the mountains, and, returning to school, the lads went into camp with the other cadets. Then they took another long trip on land and sea and led a Crusoe-like life on an island of the Pacific Ocean.
“I think we’d better settle down now,” said Dick on returning home from being cast away, but this was not to be. They took a house-boat trip down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, had a number of adventures on the plains and then found themselves in southern waters, where they solved the mystery of a deserted steam yacht.
They returned to the farm and to Putnam Hall, and for a time matters went along quietly. On account of attending to some business for his father, Dick had fallen somewhat behind in his studies, and Tom and Sam did their best to catch up to him, and, as a consequence, all three of the youths graduated from Putnam Hall at the same time.
“And now for college!” Sam had said, and all were anxious to know where their parent intended to send them next But instead of settling this question Mr. Rover came forward with a proposition that was as novel as it was inviting. This was nothing less than to visit a spot in the West Indies, known as Treasure Isle, and made a hunt for a large treasure secreted there during a rebellion in one of the Central American countries.
“A treasure hunt! Just the thing!” Dick had said, and his brothers agreed with him. The lads were filled with excitement over the prospect, and for the time being all thoughts of going to college were thrust aside.
From Mr. Rover it was learned that the treasure belonged to the estate of a Mr. Stanhope, who had died some years before. Mr. Stanhope’s widow was well known to the Rover boys, and Dick thought that Dora Stanhope, the daughter, was the finest girl in the whole world. There was also another relative, a Mrs. Laning—the late Mr. Stanhope’s sister—who was to share in the estate, and she had two daughters, Grace and Nellie, two young ladies who were especial favorites with Sam and Tom.
“Oh, we’ve got to find that treasure,” said Tom. “Think of what it means to the Stanhopes and the Lanings.”
“They’ll be rich—and they deserve to be,” answered his brother Sam. It may be added here that the Rovers were wealthy, so they did not begrudge the treasure to others.
A steam yacht was chartered and a party was made up, consisting of the Rovers, several of the boys’ school chums, Mrs. Stanhope and Dora and Mrs. Laning and Grace and Nellie. The steam yacht carried a fine crew and also an old tar called Bahama Bill, who knew the exact location of the treasure.
Before sailing it was learned that some rivals were also after the treasure. One of these was a sharper named Sid Merrick, who had on several occasions tried to get the best of the Rovers and failed. With Merrick was Tad Sobber, his nephew, a youth who at Putnam Hall had been a bitter foe to Dick, Tom and Sam. Sobber had sent the Rovers a box containing a live poisonous snake, but the snake got away and bit another pupil. This lad knew all about the sending of the reptile and he exposed Tad Sobber, and the latter, growing alarmed, ran away from the school.
The search for the treasure proved a long one, and Sid Merrick and Tad Sobber did all in their power to keep the wealth from falling into the hands of the Rovers and their friends. But the Rovers won out in the quest and sailed away with the treasure on board the steam yacht. The vessel of their enemies followed them, but a hurricane came up and the other ship was lost with nearly all on board.
“Well, that’s the end of Sid Merrick and Tad Sobber,” said Dick when he heard this news. “If they are at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean they can’t bother us any more.” But Dick was mistaken in his surmise. It was true that Sid Merrick had been drowned, but Tad Sobber was alive, having been rescued by a schooner bound for London, and he was now on his way back to the United States, more bitter than ever against the Rovers, and with a determination to do all in his power to bring Dick, Tom and Sam to grief and gain possession of the money which he and his uncle had claimed belonged to them instead of to the Stanhope estate.
On arriving at Philadelphia from the West Indies the treasure was deposited in a strong box of a local trust company. From it the expenses of the trip were paid, and the sailors who had aided in the search were suitably rewarded. Later on the balance of the treasure was divided according to the terms of Mr. Stanhope’s will. This placed a large sum of money in the hands of Mrs. Stanhope, both for herself and Dora, and also a goodly amount in the hands of Mrs. Laning for herself and Grace and Nellie.
The Stanhopes had always been fairly well off, but not so the Lanings. John Laning was a farmer, and this sudden change to riches bewildered him.
“Why, mother,” he said to his wife, “whatever will you and the gals do with the money?”
“Several things, John,” she answered. “In the first place, you are not going to work so hard and in the next place the girls are going to have a better education.”
“Well, I’m not afraid of work,” answered the farmer. “About eddication, if they want it—well, it’s their money and they can have all the learnin’ they want.”
“Dora is going to a boarding school and Nellie and Grace want to go with her,” went on Mrs. Laning.
“Where is Dora going?”
“To a place called Hope Seminary. Her mother knows the lady who is the principal.”
“Well, if it’s a good place, I reckon the gals can go too. But it will be terrible lonesome here without ’em.�
�
“I know, John, but we want the girls to be somebody, now they have money, don’t we?”
“Sure we do,” answered Mr. Laning readily.
So it was arranged that the three girls should go to Hope Seminary, located several miles from the town of Ashton, in one of the Central States. In the meantime the Rover boys were speculating on what college they were to attend. Yale was mentioned, and Harvard and Princeton, and also several institutions located in the Middle West.
“Boys, wouldn’t you like to go to Brill College?” asked their father one day. “That’s a fine institution—not quite so large as some but just as good.” And he smiled in a peculiar manner.
“Brill? Where is that?” asked Dick.
“It is near the town of Ashton, about two miles from Hope Seminary, the school Dora Stanhope and the Laning girls are going to attend.” And Mr. Rover smiled again.
“Brill College for mine,” said Sam promptly and in a manner that made his brothers laugh.
“Sam wants to be near Grace,” said Tom.
“Well, don’t you want to be near Nellie?” retorted the youngest Rover.
“Of course I do. And I reckon Dick won’t be angry at being where he can occasionally see Dora,” went on the fun-loving Rover with a sly wink. “Of course it’s nice enough to write letters and send boxes of chocolates by mail, but it’s a good deal better to take a stroll in the moonlight and hold hands, eh, Dick?”
“Is that what you do?” asked Dick, but his face grew very red as he spoke.
“Never in the wide, wide world!” cried Tom.
“I leave that for my sentimental brothers, big and little.”
“Who is sentimental?” exclaimed Sam. “Maybe I don’t remember you and Nellie on the deck of the steam yacht that moonlight night—”
“Aw, cut it out!” muttered Tom. He turned to his father, who had been called from the room for a moment. “If you think Brill College a good one, dad, it will suit me.”
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 201