The boys had gotten home just two days before Christmas, and they spent their entire time the next day in shopping for presents. In this they were partly aided by Martha and Mary, especially when it came to selecting presents for their mothers. Then, however, they sent the girls away, so that they might buy something for them. Although they did not mention this, Jack also wished to get a little reminder for Ruth, while Fred was equally desirous of obtaining something for May.
Christmas dawned bright and clear, and many were the cries of joy which rang throughout the three Rover households. All the young folks spent over an hour in running back and forth, wishing this one and that one “Merry Christmas!” Then came the distribution of presents.
“Just what I wanted!” cried Fred, as he inspected his pile of gifts. There was a new watch, some gorgeous neckties, several books, and a splendid little double-barrelled shotgun.
“Don’t say a word! It couldn’t be better!” came from Randy.
“The best Christmas ever!” echoed his twin. They, too, had numerous gifts, including little diamond stickpins, new skates, some boxing gloves, and bright-colored sweaters, into which their cousins had knitted the initials C. H.
“Now, I presume, you’ll be real Colby Hall cadets,” said their mother, when they had donned the sweaters and were strutting around in them.
“This sure is one grand Christmas!” said Jack. He, too, had fared well, receiving a beautiful seal ring, a new traveling bag, completely equipped, several sets of books for which he had longed greatly, and also a small, but first-class, repeating rifle.
“Now we’ve certainly got to go on that hunt,” remarked Fred, placing his new shotgun beside the new rifle.
“Right you are, Fred!” responded Jack. “But first we’re going to have one dandy time down here in New York.”
CHAPTER XIX
OFF FOR SNOWSHOE ISLAND
“What an awfully large place New York is!”
It was Ruth who uttered the words while she was taking a ride down Fifth Avenue in company with Jack and his sister and several of the others.
It was the day after Christmas, and Spouter had arrived at noon, bringing his cousin May and Ruth with him. The young folks were taking a ride previous to stopping at the Grand Central Terminal to meet Gif, who was to come later.
“You won’t find many places larger,” answered Dick. He felt very happy to think that Ruth was beside him, and more so because Ruth and his sister seemed to become good friends from the very moment they met.
Behind the first auto came a second, containing Spouter, May, Mary, and Fred. They, too, were enjoying themselves, the youngest Rover doing what he could to point out the various places of interest to Spouter’s fair cousin.
The Rover boys, aided by Mary and Martha, had laid their plans for the next five days with care. The young folks were to be taken to Central and Bronx Parks, to several well-known theaters, and also to the Grand Opera, and Mrs. Dick Rover had arranged to give a party at her home in the visitors’ honor.
Mary and Martha had been eager to hear about Clearwater Hall, and the two girl visitors were not slow in singing the praises of that institution.
“Oh, I think I’d like to go there!” cried Martha. “What do you think, Mary?”
“I think I’d like to go myself, now that we know somebody there,” was her cousin’s reply. Mary had always been a little shy.
During those days of pleasure in New York only one thing occurred to mar the happiness of the young folks. That was one afternoon when all of them went over to Central Park for a couple of hours to enjoy the skating. There, quite unexpectedly, they ran into Nappy Martell. He favored the Rover boys with a black look, and then lost himself in the crowd of skaters.
“He certainly has no love for us,” was Jack’s comment. “If he could possibly do us an injury, I think he would do it.”
But aside from this incident the young folks had nothing to worry them, and they spent a most agreeable time on the ice. They talked a good deal of nonsense, and often laughed when there was no apparent cause for so doing, but that was due entirely to their high spirits. When they returned to the Rover homes the girls had a glow in their cheeks and a sparkle in their eyes that made them more beautiful than ever.
“That Ruth Stevenson is certainly a handsome girl,” whispered Mrs. Dick Rover to her husband.
“So she is, Dora,” answered Dick. “And if you’ll notice, our Jack has quite an eye for her,” he added dryly.
“Oh, Dick! you don’t suppose he’s smitten with her? Why, he’s so young!”
“I’m not saying anything about that, Dora. I can’t help but remember that I was smitten with you the first time I saw you,” and at this Dora Rover gave her husband a warm look that meant a great deal.
May had not forgotten her promise to her Cousin Spouter, and during the visit she did all she could to impress on the older folks the charms of life at Clearwater Hall. She told of what fine teachers there were at the school, how rapidly most of the pupils advanced in their studies, and of the good times to be had there.
“And I do hope that you will let Mary and Martha join us,” she concluded. “I am sure they will feel perfectly at home there, and that they will be as well taught, if not better, than they would be if they remained here in the city.”
“I’ll think it over, May,” answered Mrs. Sam Rover; and Martha’s mother said the same.
Jack and his cousins had already sent a letter to Barney Stevenson, completing the arrangements for going up to Snowshoe Island. Now came a brief communication from the old lumberman, stating that he would be on the look-out for them, and would do all he could to make their outing enjoyable.
“What a nice letter for him to write!” exclaimed Ruth, when Jack showed her the communication. “Oh, I do hope you’ll be able to fix up this difference between old Uncle Barney and my folks! It’s dreadful to have him on the outs with our family.”
“As I said before, Ruth, I’ll do what I can,” Jack replied.
With so much going on, the holidays sped by swiftly, and all too soon it was time for the visitors to take their departure. Spouter and Gif both wished they could accompany the Rovers to Snowshoe Island, but this was not to be, as they had already made other arrangements.
“But have a good time,” said Spouter.
“Don’t forget to lay low a few deer and a bear or two,” added Gif.
“Good gracious! you don’t expect them to shoot bears, do you?” exclaimed May, in some alarm.
“I don’t believe there are any bears on that island, are there?” came from Ruth.
“There are very few bears anywhere,” answered Jack. “Gif was only fooling. The biggest game that we may possibly see will be a deer, although even they are growing scarce. We may see nothing bigger than squirrels, rabbits and partridges, and maybe a mink or a fox.”
The Rover boys accompanied the others to the Grand Central Terminal. Here Jack managed to have a few words in private with Ruth, and at the conclusion he gave her hand so tight a squeeze that she blushed. Then the visitors boarded the train and in a minute more were gone.
“And now to get ready for the trip to Snowshoe Island!” cried Randy.
“That’s the talk!” returned his twin.
The boys were to leave for Rockville, the nearest railroad station to Snowshoe Island, on the day after New Year’s. They spent several hours in packing their things, being advised in that matter by their fathers, who, as my old readers know, had been on many hunting expeditions before them.
“Now, there is no use of my giving you any advice on how to handle your firearms,” said Dick Rover. “I have given you that advice before, and you ought to remember what I said.”
“I do, Dad,” answered his son. “And I’m sure the others remember, too.”
“And I want you two boys to keep out of mischief,” put in Tom Rove
r, addressing his twins. “Of course, you can have all the fun you please, but let it be good, innocent nonsense. Don’t do anything mean, and don’t do anything to get somebody else into trouble.”
“And my advice is, to go slow and be careful,” added Sam Rover. “In other words: ‘Look before you leap’——”
“As the clown in the circus said,” finished Tom Rover, “when he thought he was going to jump through a paper hoop and found instead that it was a solid white barrel-head;” and at this little joke there was a general laugh.
The boys had already told their fathers about the doings of Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown.
“Nappy Martell is evidently the son of his father,” remarked Dick Rover. “The senior Martell is just as domineering, and not one bit more reliable. Down in Wall Street we’ve been watching him pretty closely.”
“Yes, and he needed watching,” put in Tom Rover. “To my mind, if he isn’t a fraud, he’s pretty close to it.”
“You said something about his underhanded work before,” came from Sam. “If he is a swindler, I certainly hope that sooner or later they expose him.”
The boys had learned that Rockville was a town of considerable importance and boasted of several good-sized stores. They felt certain that they could buy all the supplies needed at that place, so it would be unnecessary to get them in New York. They, however, took along all the clothing that was needed, and likewise their guns and a good supply of ammunition.
“Now do be careful!” pleaded Mrs. Tom Rover, when they were ready to depart. “I don’t want any of you to get shot.”
“Don’t you worry, Ma. We’ll be careful all right enough,” answered Randy, as he kissed her good-bye.
Several of the neighboring boys had come to see them off, and there was a little bit of envy as these watched the Rovers depart. They went to the railroad station in one of the limousines, only the two girls going with them to see them off.
“Now don’t get hurt, Jack,” said Martha, when it was almost time for him to take the train. “Remember, if you do, Ruth will never forgive you,” and she gave her brother a roguish look which, somehow, made his cheeks burn.
“Aw, cut that, Martha!” he answered. And then, of a sudden, he continued: “You join those girls at Clearwater Hall, and I’ll pick a fine cadet for you to go out with.”
“Boo!” cried Martha, and put out the tip of her tongue at him. “Who said I wanted any of your old cadets!” Then, as he and his cousins ran for the train, she waved him an affectionate farewell.
The boys had obtained seats in advance in one of the parlor cars, and soon they made themselves comfortable. They talked over what had happened while their visitors had been with them, and presently commenced to discuss the expected hunting on and around Snowshoe Island.
“We ought to have a dandy two weeks,” was Fred’s comment. “Just think of it! For fourteen days we’ll be able to do exactly as we please!”
“Yum-yum!” added Randy. “Sleep as long as you please, eat when you please and as much as you please, and shoot all the game you want to! What more could a fellow want?”
“And cut all the firewood you want to! And wash all the dirty dishes you want to! And miss all the really good game you want to——” commenced Andy.
“Jump on him!”
“Throw him out of the window!”
“Let’s make him go without his supper to-night!”
So the cries went on as the three others caught Andy by the arms and by the coat collar.
“Hold up! I surrender!” gasped the fun-loving youth. “Let up! will you?”
“You’ve got to promise to be good and not throw cold water on our hopes,” announced Jack. “We’re going to have the best time ever on Snowshoe Island. And not a thing is going to happen to mar our pleasure.”
But in this last surmise the oldest Rover boy was sadly mistaken. Many things of which he and his cousins did not dream were to occur, not only to startle and annoy them, but also to place them in extreme peril.
CHAPTER XX
CAUGHT IN A SNOWSTORM
“Next station stop Rockville!”
“That’s our jumping off place, boys! We had better get our baggage together!” exclaimed Jack.
“I wonder if Barney Stevenson will be at the station to meet us?” questioned Fred.
“That depends on whether he got my last message or not,” answered Jack. “However, if he isn’t there, I guess we can find our way to Snowshoe Island alone.”
Soon the long train rolled into the little station at Rockville, and the boys alighted, being assisted by the porter, who had already taken charge of their baggage. He readily accepted the tip they gave him, and, as he had learned that they were off on a little hunting tour, said he hoped they would have every success.
“But don’t you bring down too many lions and elephants,” added the colored man.
“No, we’ll leave the lions and elephants for you,” returned Andy, and this made the porter grin broadly, showing two rows of white ivories.
“Hello, boys! So you’ve got here at last, eh?” cried a voice from the doorway of the railroad station, and old Barney Stevenson strode toward them. He looked the picture of health, having recovered entirely from the accident in the woods. He shook hands cordially, giving each hand a squeeze that made the recipient wince.
“We’re glad to see you, Mr. Stevenson,” began Fred, when up went the old lumberman’s hand in protest.
“’Twon’t do, boys! ‘Twon’t do at all! If you’re going to come over to Snowshoe Island with me, you’ve got to drop that Mister business. Plain Uncle Barney is good enough for me.”
“All right, then! Uncle Barney it is!” answered Fred, and the others smiled and nodded.
“I just got your message this noon,” explained the old lumberman. “Billy Sanders, the station agent’s son, brought it over to me. I see you’ve got your duffle with you,” and he looked at their various bags.
“We didn’t bring anything along in the way of provisions,” answered Randy. “We thought we could buy all those things here in town.”
“So you can—providing you’ve got the money, lad;” and Uncle Barney smiled.
“Oh, we’ve got the money!” answered Andy. “Our folks treated us very handsomely.”
“I brought over my big bobsled,” went on the old lumberman. “Come ahead—I’ll help you carry your baggage. We can leave it all at Crumpers’ boathouse until we get the other stuff.”
He led the way, and they soon found themselves at the boathouse he had mentioned. Here they placed their traveling bags on Uncle Barney’s bobsled, and then made their way to a nearby general store, where the old fellow was well known.
“We’ve got a list written out here,” explained Jack, bringing it forth. “I’ll read it to you, and then you can tell me what you think of it.”
The list was quite a long one, and the old lumberman listened attentively as Jack read it over. Then he nodded approvingly.
“You’ve got it about right, boys,” he said. “You must have been out before.”
“My dad helped me make out this list,” explained Dick. “He and my uncles have had quite some experience hunting, and, of course, they knew just what to take along.”
“Do you think it will be enough?” questioned Randy anxiously. His appetite for eating never seemed to be lacking.
“You’ve got enough there for six or eight,” answered the old lumberman. “However, it won’t do any harm to add a few more beans and a little extra bacon; likewise a little more sugar, seeing as how boys generally like things sweet.”
It was an easy matter to purchase the various articles at the general store, and the boys had the clerk pack them securely in several soap boxes. Then Jack, as the treasurer for the crowd, paid the bill.
By this time it was growing dark, and Uncle Ba
rney told them they had better not waste their time.
“I may be mistaken, but it looks a good deal like another snowstorm to me,” he explained. “And if it’s going to snow, we might as well get to the island before it starts to come down too hard.”
The old lumberman was right about the snow, and some early flakes came sifting down while they were still at the boathouse packing the bobsled. The old lumberman showed them how to secure the load so that there would be no danger of its falling off.
“Now then, on with your skates, and we’ll be off,” he announced. In the winter time he always made the journey between the island and the town on his steel runners.
“I suppose skating is a good deal easier than walking,” remarked Fred, while the boys were putting on their skates.
“To be sure. And we can make so much better time.”
“How far have we got to go?” questioned Andy.
“To the upper end of the island, where I’ve got my home, is about four miles.”
“Oh, that isn’t so far!” cried Fred. “We can skate that in no time.”
“We could if we could go in a straight line. But we can’t,” answered Uncle Barney. “The wind blew the last snow in all sorts of ridges across the ice, and we’ll have to pick our way along as best we can.”
A long rope had been attached to the bobsled, so that they could all assist in hauling it along. On the smooth ice the load proved to be a light one, so that they had little difficulty in progressing. But, as the old lumberman had said, the ridges of snow on the lake were numerous, and some of these were piled up several feet high, and the party had to make long detours around them.
“This isn’t going to be so easy, after all,” remarked Fred, after they had skated for almost half an hour. “I thought we would get to Snowshoe Island in no time.”
It was now quite dark, and the snow was falling steadily. So far, there had been little wind, but now this, too, sprang up, sending the frozen particles directly into their faces.
“Gee! this isn’t so pleasant!” exclaimed Andy, as he pulled down his cap and pulled up the sweater he was wearing.
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 358