“It’s somebody calling for help!”
“Where is he?”
“I think the cry came from over yonder,” said Jack, in answer to the latter question. “Let’s pull over there and see.”
All were willing, and the four once more bent to their oars, sending the rowboat through the bluish-green smoke, which almost choked and blinded them.
“Hello there!” yelled Fred. “Where are you?”
“Help! Help!” came the cry from off to their left. “Help! Save me!”
The rowboat was turned in that direction, and a few seconds later the Rover boys caught sight through the smoke of a water-logged rowboat to which an elderly man, dressed in the garb of a workman, was clinging.
“Help me! Help me! I can’t hang on much longer!” gasped the man, as soon as he saw the boys.
“Sure, we’ll help you,” declared Jack. “Go slow now,” he cautioned his cousins. “We don’t want to knock him off into the water.”
With care the rowboat was brought around so that they came up alongside of the elderly man. He was glad enough to turn from his water-logged craft to the other boat. But he was well-nigh exhausted, and the Rovers had not a little trouble in getting him on board.
“Tell you what—I’m mighty glad you lads came along,” panted the old man, when he was safe. “I couldn’t have held out much longer. This is something terrible, ain’t it? Say, would you mind hooking that boat fast and pulling it to shore? It belongs to me, and I ain’t so wealthy that I can afford to lose it. Besides, it’s got some of my things in it.”
“We’ll take it along unless it keeps us back too much,” answered Jack. And then he bent down, got hold of the bowline of the craft, and tied it fast to their stern. Fortunately the other boat was a small one, so they had not much difficulty in towing it along.
“I’m a dockman over at the ammunition factory,” explained the old man.“And when things began to go off I thought it was high time to get out. I tried to save a few of my things and dumped ’em into my boat and began to pull for the shore. But then one of the big explosions went off, and I got caught in a lot of smoke and a rain of I don’t know what, and was nearly rendered senseless. When I came to, I had drifted along to near where you found me. Something must have hit the boat and gone through the bottom, for she was filling with water fast. Then she tipped, and I went overboard. I can’t swim very well, and that confounded smoke got in my lungs, and I thought sure I would be a goner. You boys certainly came in the nick of time.”
“And we are glad of it,” declared Fred, and the others nodded in approval.
The elderly man said that his name was Jed Kessler, and that he lived on the outskirts of Haven Point. He knew very little about Colby Hall, however, for previous to being employed by the Hasley Shell Loading Company he had worked around the docks at Hixley, at one end of the lake. So much the boys learned from him when they had rowed out of the pall of smoke and the rain of fire and could breathe freely and in comfort.
“Have you any idea what started that fire?” questioned Jack, when they were headed for one of the docks at Haven Point.
“I’ve got my idea, yes. But I don’t know whether it’s correct or not,”replied Jed Kessler. “Of course, any kind of a slight accident in a place like that might set things to going. But I know one thing, and that is very important, I think.”
“What is that?” questioned Randy.
“The first explosion took place down the railroad track, in one of the cars loaded with shells, while the second explosion, which came less than half a minute later, occurred in one of the supply houses.”
“Was the supply house near the car where the first explosion happened?” queried Jack.
“No. The two places are at least five hundred feet apart.”
“In that case, it isn’t likely that the first explosion brought on the second, is it?” questioned Andy.
“It didn’t!” was the prompt answer. “Those two explosions had nothing to do with each other—except in one way,—and that is that they were both started by the same person or persons,” declared Jed Kessler emphatically.
“Gee! do you suppose there were German spies around?” ejaculated Randy.
“I am sure there were,” went on the old dockman.
“But I supposed your guards kept all strangers away from the plant,”said Jack.
“They were supposed to. But you know how it is. Those fellows aren’t on the watch all the time. They get tired of their job, and sometimes they take it easy. Besides that, it is rather easy to reach the plant from the water front, and it is almost equally easy to come down through the woods on the hill behind the place. Of course, we’ve got a big wire fence up all around, but it doesn’t take much to go through that if a fellow has a good pair of wire cutters.”
“Did you ever see anybody suspicious?”
“Lots of times. But, of course, most of the people who looked suspicious proved to be nothing but men who had an idle curiosity regarding the plant. But I saw some fellows around there two weeks ago and again a couple of days ago, and they looked mighty suspicious to me. They were a couple of heavy-set looking fellows, with strong German faces, and I heard ’em at a distance talking in a language that I’m pretty sure was German.”
“Why didn’t you report this to the guard?”
“I did. But they were a lot of fresh young fellows, and they only laughed at me and said I was too suspicious,” grumbled Jed Kessler.“But that is where I made a mistake. I should have gone right to the offices and reported to the head boss.”
“Do you suppose you’d know those fellows again if you saw them?”questioned Jack.
“I think I would—although I’m not sure. They were both fellows with heavy black hair and heavy black beards, and one of them walked with his right foot kind of turned out.”
“You certainly ought to report this as soon as possible,” declared the oldest Rover boy. “It may furnish the authorities with an important clue. If I were you, I would get into communication with one of your bosses without delay.”
Leaving the old man and his rowboat at the dock, the four Rovers rowed up the lake once more in the direction of the Clearwater Hall boathouse. By this time the explosions at the shell-loading plant had practically ceased, and only a small amount of smoke was now coming from the ruins.
When the Rovers arrived at the boathouse connected with the girls’school, they found that Mary and Martha had come down to the place, accompanied by a number of the other girls. All had heard that the Rovers had taken the rowboat, and were wondering if the lads were safe.
“You’ve given us a terrible scare,” declared Martha to her brother.“You shouldn’t have taken such a risk!”
“Well, it was worth while,” answered Fred, and then told of the rescue of Jed Kessler.
“Well, we’ve had a surprise since you went away,” said Ruth Stevenson presently.
“A thoroughly disagreeable surprise, too,” added May Powell. “You’ll never guess who was here only a few minutes ago!”
“Some of our folks from New York?” questioned Jack quickly.
“No such luck,” answered his sister.
“They were two persons we didn’t care to see,” said Ruth. “They were Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell!”
CHAPTER V
MEETING OLD ENEMIES
“Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell!” The cry came from all of the Rover boys simultaneously.
“What were those fellows doing here?” continued Jack.
“Did they dare to speak to you?” demanded Fred.
“Of course they spoke to us—you can’t stop fellows like Brown and Martell from doing that,” answered Ruth. “But you can be sure we gave them both the cold shoulder.”
“What did they want here?” questioned Jack.
“I don’t know what they w
anted or where they came from,” continued Ruth. “Their appearance gave us such a shock we didn’t know what to do at first.”
“We were on our way from the school to the boathouse, and were just crossing the roadway when Slugger and Nappy came along in a runabout,”said May. “The minute they saw us they stopped and jumped out. They asked us a whole lot of questions about how we were getting along at school and if your sisters were here.”
“Our sisters!” cried Fred. “What business have they got to ask about Martha and Mary?”
“Of course we didn’t answer their questions, and Martha and Mary had gone on ahead, so Brown and Martell didn’t see them,” said Ruth. “They tried to act in a friendly manner, but we gave them to understand that we wanted nothing to do with them. Then they jumped into the runabout again and drove off.”
“Did they go toward Haven Point?” questioned Randy.
“Yes.”
“Those fellows certainly have their nerve with them—to show themselves anywhere near Colby Hall after what happened!” burst out Andy.
“One would think they wouldn’t want any of their old classmates to see them,” remarked Fred.
“They are not that kind,” replied Jack. “Both of them are too thick-skinned to be sensitive. More than likely they have been telling their friends that we did our best to get them into trouble and that they were not to blame.”
“Oh, Jack! if you go back to Colby Hall by way of the town, I hope you don’t get into any trouble with those horrid fellows,” said his sister.
“Don’t worry about that, Martha,” answered her brother quickly. “I’m not afraid of Slugger or Nappy either. They have got to behave themselves; otherwise we may bring up one of the old charges against them.”
Of course the girls wanted to know more concerning what had happened to the Rover boys while they were out on the lake, and they related many of the particulars.
“And do you really think those two Germans that that Jed Kessler spoke about set fire to the munition plant?” questioned Ruth.
“I don’t know what to think, Ruth,” answered Jack. “One thing is certain: If the first explosions weren’t accidental, then they must have been due to some underhand work.”
During the time the boys spent with the girls at the boathouse there were no more explosions, and now the fire on the opposite shore of the lake was dying out, while only a small part of the pall of curious-colored smoke remained.
“I guess it’s about over,” was Randy’s comment.
Feeling that those at Clearwater Hall would be safe, at least for the time being, the Rovers decided to return to Colby Hall, knowing that Colonel Colby and his assistants would be anxious concerning the welfare of all the cadets.
Spouter and those with him had taken one automobile, but the other remained, and, bidding the girls good-bye, the Rover boys jumped into this and were soon off. Jack was at the wheel, and in spite of the numerous machines on the road, for the blowing-up of the shell-loading plant had caused great excitement for many miles around, he drove the car with considerable speed in the direction of Haven Point.
“Let us stop at the town for a few minutes and find out, if we can, just how bad this affair has been,” said Fred.
“That’s it!” returned Randy. “I’d like to know if anyone has been killed or seriously hurt.”
They stopped on the main street close to where were located a number of the stores and also the moving-picture theater where the cadets had first met Ruth Stevenson and her chums.
“It’s a pretty bad affair,” said one of the storekeepers, with whom in the past the boys had done some trading. “I was just down to police headquarters, and they say there that two workmen were killed and about fifteen injured. It certainly is a rascally piece of business, and the fellows who did it ought to be strung up.”
“Then they are pretty certain that it is the work of some German sympathizers?” questioned Jack quickly.
“They can’t figure it out any other way. The boss of the plant, and likewise two of his head foremen, have been closely questioned, and they declare that every possible precaution against accidents was taken. More than that, they say that there were two separate explosions occurring almost at the same time—one down on the railroad tracks and another in a storehouse quite a distance away.”
“Yes, we heard that, too, from one of the dockmen of the plant,”answered Fred. “He said he thought two men who looked like Germans and who had been hanging around the plant might be guilty.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that story, too. I think it was started by old Jed Kessler, wasn’t it?”
“That’s the man,” said Randy.
“I think I saw those two fellows here in Haven Point,” continued the storekeeper. “They were heavy-set, round-faced men, and each had heavy black hair and a heavy black beard, just as Kessler described them. They were here several times. I think they had business at one of the machine shops, although I’m not certain about that.”
The Rover boys spoke to several other people of the town and gathered a little additional information regarding the destruction of the shell-loading plant, and then reëntered their automobile and started once more for the military academy. With them went Bart White and Frank Newberry, who had come down to the town directly after the ball game.
“It’s too bad this affair had to happen just as it did,” declared Bart White. “It kind of takes the shine off of our victory over Hixley High.”
“So it does,” said Jack. “But that can’t be helped.”
“If you put it up to the shell-loading people they would probably have been willing to postpone the blowing up indefinitely,” remarked Andy dryly.
“I suppose the newspapers here will be full of nothing but this affair,” said Fred wistfully; “and they won’t give our game with Hixley High more than a brief mention.”
“Oh, well, what of it?” cried Randy gaily. “We walloped ’em, and that’s the main thing.”
“Right you are!” came in a chorus from several of the others.
At one of the street corners, owing to the excitement, there was a congestion of traffic, and Jack had to bring the car to a stop. As he did this there was a sudden yell from behind, and then came a slight bump followed by a jingling of glass.
“Hi, you! what do you mean by stopping so suddenly?” yelled an irate voice from the rear.
“They’ve busted one of our headlights!” added another voice in surly tones.
Those in the tonneau of the Rovers’ automobile looked around quickly.
“Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown!” ejaculated Fred in surprise.
“They must have been following us!” added Randy quickly.
“Say, I didn’t know those fellows were anywhere around here!” burst out Frank Newberry.
“I thought from what you fellows told us those fellows would steer clear of this vicinity,” added Bart White.
By this time Jack and Andy, who were on the front seat, were also looking back to see what had happened. They beheld a runabout standing close up to their own car. The collision had not been sufficient to do any more damage than to break the glass in both of the headlights of the runabout. They had struck the framework holding an extra shoe on the rear of the Rovers’ car, and for this reason the other automobile had not suffered any damage whatsoever.
“You fellows will pay for this damage!” grumbled Slugger Brown, who was at the wheel of the runabout.
“You did it yourself,” answered Bart White quickly.
“You fellows had no business to stop so suddenly!”
“They did it on purpose!” burst out Nappy Martell.
As was usual with the youth, he was loudly dressed, wearing a light checkered suit with a cap to match and a flaming red tie. He looked somewhat dissipated.
“I’ll attend to this,” said Jack to his cou
sins and the others. And without delay he leaped from the front machine and walked back to the other.
“Just see what you’ve done, Jack Rover!” began Slugger Brown. But then the stern look in Jack’s face caused him to come to a stop.
“I’m glad I met you, Brown—and you too, Martell,” said Jack in a low, steady voice. “I was hoping I’d see you before you had a chance to leave Haven Point.”
“Wanted to see us, eh?” said Slugger; and now a somewhat uneasy look took possession of his face.
“Don’t let him talk himself out of paying for the damage done,” put in Nappy loftily. He was puffing on a cigarette and blew the smoke high into the air as he spoke.
“We’re not going to pay for any damage done,” said Jack. “This little accident is your own fault, for you had no business to be driving so close behind our car.”
“We’ll see about that,” grumbled Slugger.
“What I want to talk to you about is another matter,” went on Jack, without raising his voice because he did not wish to have any outsider hear. “You took the trouble a while ago to stop at Clearwater Hall and speak to some of the young ladies attending that school.”
“Well, what of it? Haven’t we got a right to do that if we want to?”
“I guess we can speak to our lady friends any time we feel like it,”added Nappy.
“Both of you know very well that none of those young ladies want anything to do with you,” continued Jack. “You’ve had your warning before. Now I want you to leave them alone.”
“Huh! you talk as if you were our master,” growled Slugger, an ugly look coming into his eyes.
“Never mind how I talk, Brown. You just listen to what I’m saying, and you mind me. If you don’t, you’ll get into a whole lot of trouble, just as sure as you are born.”
By this time Fred had also left the forward car and was standing beside Jack.
“You fellows asked about my sister and about Jack’s sister,” said Fred. “Why did you do that?”
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