He did tighten up a little, and as a consequence the next batter up went out on strikes and the following player on a foul fly.
“Hurrah! Two out! Hold ‘em down! Don’t let ‘em score!”
The next batter up was Fred. So far the youngest Rover had been unable to get further than first.
“Oh, Fred, line it out! Please line it out!” cried May Powell, and then she blushed furiously as a number sitting near her began to laugh.
“Don’t you care, May,” consoled Mary, and then she called out loudly: “Do your best, Fred! Do your best!”
“Go in and win!” cried Martha.
There had been a tremendous racket, but now, as Fred gripped his ashen stick and Tommy Flanders prepared to deliver the ball, a deathlike silence came over the field. Every one of the men on the bases was prepared to leg it at the slightest chance of being able to score.
The first ball to come in was too high, and the second too low, so Fred let them go by. Then, however, came a straight ball just where he wanted it, and Fred swung at it with every ounce of muscle in his body.
Crack! The report could be heard all over the grounds, and then the sphere could be seen sailing far off into left field.
“Run, boys, run! Everybody run!”
“Leg it for all you are worth!”
“It’s a three-bagger, sure!”
“No, it isn’t! It’s a homer! Run, boys! Run! Run! Run!”
The crowd was now on its feet yelling and cheering at the top of its lungs and throwing caps and banners into the air, and while the left fielder was chasing madly after the bounding ball, the three men on bases came in one after another, followed swiftly by the panting and blowing Rover boy.
“Hi! Hi! Hi! What do you know about that! Four runs!”
“That’s the way to do it, Colby! Keep it up!”
“You’ve got the Longley pitcher going!” cried Spouter at the top of his lungs. “Give us a few more home runs! They’ll be easy!”
“Take Flanders out!” said one of the Academy boys in disgust. “He’s beginning to weaken.”
While the din and excitement continued the Academy captain went up to talk to the pitcher.
“Don’t you think we had better make a change, Tommy?” he questioned anxiously.
“No, I don’t!” roared Flanders angrily. “That home run was a fluke, that’s all. I’ll hold ‘em down, you wait and see.”
There were wild cries to change the pitcher on the part of the Longley students, while the military academy cadets yelled themselves hoarse telling their nine to “bat Flanders out of the box.”
Walt Baxter was now up, and managed to get to second. Then came Jack with a single that took him safely to first and advanced Walt to third.
“Say, Tommy, you’d better give it up,” whispered the Longley captain, as he came to the box.
“I’ll hold ‘em! Just give me one chance more,” answered Flanders desperately.
And then came the real break. The next player up got what would have been a two-base hit, but the ball was fumbled, and as a consequence the man got home, chasing the other two runners in ahead of him.
“Hurrah! What do you know about that! Seven runs!”
“That’s the way to do it! Hurrah for Colby Hall!”
“You’ve got ‘em a-going, boys, give it to ‘em good and plenty!”
The excitement was now greater than ever, and all, including the girls from Clearwater Hall, were shouting themselves hoarse, tooting tin horns, shaking rattles, and throwing caps and other things into the air.
“Take him out! Take Flanders out!”
“Out with Flanders! Out with him!”
“He should have been taken out before!”
“All right—finish the game without me!” roared Tommy Flanders in disgust, and, throwing down the ball, he strode from the field and into one of the dressing-rooms.
“Gee, but he’s sore!” was Randy’s comment.
“That ought to take some of the conceit out of him,” added Andy.
The new pitcher was a left-hander who had rather a puzzling delivery, and he managed to retire the side without any more runs, so that at the end of the eighth inning the score stood 7 to 2 in favor of Colby Hall.
“Now then, pull yourselves together,” ordered the Longley captain, when his side came up to the bat for the last time.
All of those who came to the plate did their best, but Jack was on his mettle, and though his swollen hand hurt him not a little, he played with all the coolness, strength and ingenuity which he possessed. As a consequence, although he allowed two single hits, none of the Longley boys got further than third.
“Hurrah! Colby Hall wins!”
And then what a celebration ensued among the cadets who had won the game and their many supporters!
CHAPTER XI
BONFIRE NIGHT
Such a glorious baseball victory as this could not be passed off lightly by the cadets of Colby Hall. They arranged for a grand celebration that night, with bonfires along the river front and a generous collation served in the gymnasium. They were allowed to invite a few of their boy friends, and all made the most of it.
“It’s a pity we can’t have you girls,” said Jack, when they were parting with Ruth and the others.
“Never mind, Jack; I’m happy to think that you won the game,” answered the girl.
“Yes, and we’re extra happy to think that you got the best of that awfully conceited Tommy Flanders,” added May.
Late in the evening the boys cut loose to their hearts’ content, neither Colonel Colby nor Captain Dale having a mind to stop them.
There were only two boys in the school who did not appreciate the celebration. One was Stowell, who was caught by some of his tormentors and dusted from head to foot with flour, and Leeds, who had been so pessimistic regarding the school winning. Leeds had said altogether too much, and as a consequence a big fool’s cap was placed on his head and he was marched around the campus riding on a rail and then dumped unceremoniously into the river.
“And don’t you dare swim out until you promise after this to believe in Colby Hall and root for her first, last, and all the time!” shouted one of the cadets on the shore.
“All right, I’ll promise! I’ll promise anything!” spluttered Leeds. “Only let me get out of this.” And then he climbed up the river bank and, dripping with water, made a wild rush for the back entrance to the school.
Of course there was a good deal more of horseplay, and it can be surmised that Andy and Randy went in for their full share of it. Even Job Plunger was caught by the crowd and hoisted on the top of a barrel which was waiting to be placed on one of the bonfires.
“Speech, Shout! Speech!” cried Andy gaily.
“Tell us what you know about ball playing in the olden times,” suggested Ned Lowe.
“You let me down off of this barrel!” cried Plunger, in alarm. “You let me down before this barrel caves in!” and poor Shout, as he was so often called, looked anything but comfortable as he balanced himself on the top of the barrel.
“We’ve got to have a speech, Shout. Come on, you know you are a first-class talker when you get at it.”
“What is it you boys want?” demanded the janitor, with his hand over his ear.
“Give us a speech, a speech!”
“Teach! I never did teach! What are you talking about?”
“We didn’t say teach!” screamed Andy. “We said speech—talk—words—sentences—speech!”
“Oh, you want me to make a speech,” and Plunger looked rather vacantly at the crowd. “I can’t do it. I ain’t got nothing to say. I want you to let me go. I’ve got a lot of work to do, with cleaning up that mess in the gym, not to say anything about the mess you fellers made down to the barn getting that stuff out for them fires.”
/> “If he won’t give us a speech, let us give him a ride,” cried Dan Soppinger.
“What shall we ride him in?” questioned Walt Baxter.
“I’ve got it!” burst out Andy quickly. “Just keep him here a few minutes longer, fellows. Come on, Randy, quick!”
Sure that something was in the wind, Randy followed his brother out of the crowd and both made their way toward the back end of the gymnasium. Here there was a room in which Si Crews, the gymnastic instructor, kept a number of his personal belongings. Si had been the instructor since Colby Hall had been opened, and his wife was the matron for the smaller boys.
“Mrs. Crews has a baby carriage belonging to her sister stored away in that room,” explained Andy, as he and his brother hurried on. “I saw them put it there only a few days ago. It’s a rather old affair, but I think it is strong enough to give Shout a ride in.”
The lads found the door to the storeroom unlocked, and by lighting a match saw the baby carriage standing there just as left by Mrs. Crews. It contained a pillow, and also a baby shawl and a cap.
“Hurrah! now we’ll be able to dress Shout up for the ride,” said Randy gaily.
It took but a few minutes to haul the baby carriage out and start it on its way down to where the crowd surrounded the school janitor. A shout of satisfaction went up when the other cadets saw the little vehicle, and another shout arose when Andy picked up the shawl and Randy followed with the baby cap.
“Here you are, Shout!” came from Walt Baxter. “Now we’ll be able to dress you up fine for your ride,” and before the astonished and bewildered janitor could resist, he was hoisted from the barrel and placed in the baby carriage, where the lads proceeded not only to strap him in but also to tie him down with a bit of clothesline which was handy. Then they tied the baby cap on his head and pinned the shawl around his shoulders.
“Music! Music for the procession!” called out Fatty Hendry. “Somebody got a drum and fife!” and immediately several of the cadets ran off to do as bidden.
In a few minutes more the procession started, headed by two boys carrying torches and followed by a youth with a bass drum and another with a fife. Back of them came the baby carriage drawn by a full dozen of cadets and steered in the rear by Andy and Randy. On each side of the carriage marched a cadet with a torch, so that the curious turnout might be properly illuminated. In the rear was a motley collection, laughing and joking and cutting up generally.
“Hi, you! You let me go! I don’t want no ride!” cried Plunger wildly. “This ain’t no way to treat me at all!”
“Oh, you need the air, Shout,” answered Randy. “Besides, see the shoeleather you are going to save by getting a ride instead of walking.”
The poor janitor struggled to free himself, but all in vain, and to the noise of the drum and the fife and with many shouts of laughter the whole outfit moved around the school twice and then around the gymnasium.
“And now for a final celebration!” exclaimed Randy, when the crowd came to a halt near the river front. “Everybody attention! One—two—three! Listen to the stillness!”
Wondering what was going to happen next, all came to a standstill and listened.
Bang!
A large firecracker set off directly under the baby carriage flew in all directions. As it went off poor Plunger gave a shriek of terror and then tried so hard to free himself that the carriage was overturned and he found himself snarled up in a bunch on the grass. Then the boys, not wishing to see the man hurt, rushed forward and released him, and he lost no time in disappearing inside the gymnasium.
“Hurrah! that was a grand finale,” cried Fred. “Where did you get the firecracker, Andy?”
“It was out of a bunch I bought for the Fourth of July,” was the reply.
After this celebration matters moved along swiftly toward the close of the term. During that time the Rover boys heard from their mothers in New York that their fathers were expected home in about ten days. They immediately called up the girls at Clearwater Hall, and learned that Mary and Martha had received the same news.
“And won’t I be glad to go home and see dad!” said Martha to her brother.
“No more glad than I’ll be,” he returned quickly.
It was now early Summer, and many of the cadets were in the habit of spending a part of their off time either bathing or rowing. Before going to war Colonel Colby had promised to get two motor-boats for the use of the cadets, but as yet these had not been purchased. But rowboats were numerous.
“I’ll have the motor-boats here by Fall, however,” said Colonel Colby, in speaking of this. “And then you can have a lot of fun with them.”
There was one more Saturday to be spent at school before breaking up for the term, and the Rovers and their chums had decided to spend that afternoon with the girls in an outing on the lake.
“Mary and some of the others want to go over to Bluebell Island,” said Fred. “They say there are some very fine ferns to be had there, and they thought maybe they would have a chance to take some of the ferns home.”
“All right, we’ll take them wherever they want to go,” answered Jack; and so it was arranged.
Bluebell Island was located a distance down the lake, not far from Foxtail Island, where the young folks had previously had an outing, as related in the volume entitled, “The Rover Boys at Colby Hall.”
At that time a squall on the lake and an encounter with a log raft had placed all of the young people in great peril, from which Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell had refused to rescue them.
It had been decided that the boys should row from Colby Hall down the lake to the dock at Clearwater Hall and there take the girls on board. They had three boats, one containing Jack and Fred, another the twins, and a third Gif and Spouter.
“It’s certainly one grand day for this outing,” remarked Fred, as they set off. All were good oarsmen, so the rowboats made rapid progress in the direction of the girls’ school.
“I had the day made to order,” sang out Andy. And then he added, with a grin: “It never rains when I go out unless the water happens to be coming down.”
The cadets had informed Martha and the others when they would arrive, and when they reached the dock they found six girls waiting for them, each with a carefully-tied-up shoebox under her arm.
“Yum, yum! I smell something good to eat!” exclaimed Andy, on catching sight of the boxes.
“Got any mustard pie?” added Randy. “Excuse me, I mean custard pie.”
“No, we’ve got straw pie for you, Mr. Smarty,” called out Alice Strobell.
Jack noticed that Martha and Mary looked rather thoughtful when they got into the rowboat manned by Spouter and Gif.
“Anything wrong?” he asked anxiously.
“Not much, Jack,” answered his sister. “I’ll tell you just as soon as we get to the island and we have a chance.”
“Didn’t you boys bring anything?” questioned Mary of the other Rovers.
“Sure we did! But that’s a surprise,” answered Fred. They had brought fruit and candy.
“We brought two yeast cakes and a fried-onion sandwich,” broke in Andy gaily, and at this all the girls giggled.
Ruth and May were made comfortable in the boat rowed by Jack and Fred, and they at once set off in the direction of Bluebell Island. The others shortly followed, and all made good time across the placid bosom of Clearwater Lake.
“I hope we don’t encounter such a squall as we did before,” remarked Ruth presently.
“Oh, I’m sure it will stay clear,” Jack hastened to reassure her.
In less than half an hour the young folks found themselves safe on the island, which was about thirty acres in extent, with a grassy slope on one side and rocks, trees and brushwood on the other. They tied their boats securely, and then proceeded to walk across the island to where they mig
ht take it easy under the trees or hunt for the ferns the girls desired to get.
“Now then, what is it that is troubling you?” asked Jack of his sister as soon as he could speak to Martha without the others noticing.
“Oh, Jack, I don’t know whether it ought to trouble me or not,” answered Martha. “It was such a surprise. I didn’t dream that those two fellows would show themselves around Clearwater Hall.”
“Who are you talking about, Martha?”
“Bill Glutts and Gabe Werner.”
“When did you see them?”
“I saw them yesterday, and Mary saw them early this morning.”
CHAPTER XII
ON BLUEBELL ISLAND
Jack Rover was much surprised over the statement made by his sister Martha. Bill Glutts had not returned to Colby Hall after his unfortunate experiences in the woods the Winter previous, nor had Gabe Werner shown himself in the vicinity of the military academy.
“Have you any idea what they were doing around Clearwater Hall?” he questioned.
“I have not, Jack. But I feel sure they were not up to anything good.”
“Did they say anything to either of you?”
“Oh, no. As soon as I saw them they sprang out of sight behind some trees, and this morning, when they caught sight of Mary, they hurried off in the direction of Haven Point.”
“I think I had better tell the others about this, then we can all be on our guard. Those fellows do not belong anywhere near Haven Point, and in my opinion they cannot be here for any good purpose.” Jack was thinking of the anonymous letter which had been received and which he now felt certain had been penned by Werner.
“If you tell the others now it will spoil the whole outing,” pouted Martha. “Why don’t you wait until to-night?”
“All right, I’ll do that. And when you girls are by yourselves you and Mary must tell the others.” And so it was agreed.
Those ahead had already reached the vicinity of the rocks and trees, and now began a diligent hunt by all for the rare ferns said to be growing there.
“Our idea was to empty the lunch from the shoeboxes and then fill the boxes with ferns,” said Ruth.
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