THE ROVER BOYS UNDER CANVAS
_By_ ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
[Illustration: "MY GRACIOUS! LOOK AT THAT!"
(_Frontispiece_)--_Page 28_]
THE ROVER BOYS
UNDER CANVAS
OR
_THE MYSTERY OF THE
WRECKED SUBMARINE_
BY
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)
AUTHOR OF "THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL," "THE ROVER
BOYS ON THE OCEAN," "THE PUTNAM
HALL SERIES," ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Made in the United States of America
BOOKS BY ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)
THE FIRST ROVER BOYS SERIES
THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
THE ROVER BOYS IN NEW YORK
THE ROVER BOYS IN ALASKA
THE ROVER BOYS IN BUSINESS
THE ROVER BOYS ON A TOUR
THE SECOND ROVER BOYS SERIES
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLBY HALL
THE ROVER BOYS ON SNOWSHOE ISLAND
THE ROVER BOYS UNDER CANVAS
THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES
THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS
THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS
THE PUTNAM HALL CHAMPIONS
THE PUTNAM HALL REBELLION
THE PUTNAM HALL ENCAMPMENT
THE PUTNAM HALL MYSTERY
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY
EDWARD STRATEMEYER
_The Rover Boys Under Canvas_
INTRODUCTION
MY DEAR BOYS: This book is a complete story in itself, but forms the
third volume in a line issued under the general title, "The Second
Rover Boys Series for Young Americans."
As mentioned in a number of volumes of the first series, this line was
started some years ago with the publication of "The Rover Boys at
School," "On the Ocean," and "In the Jungle," in which I introduced my
young readers to Dick, Tom, and Sam Rover. The volumes of the first
series related the doings of these three Rover boys while attending
Putnam Hall Military Academy, Brill College, and while on numerous
outings.
Having acquired a good education, the three young men established
themselves in business and became married. Presently Dick Rover was
blessed with a son and a daughter, as was also his brother Sam, while
Tom Rover became the proud father of twin boys. At first the four lads
were kept at home, but then it was thought best to send them to a
boarding school, and in the first volume of the second series,
entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall," I related what happened to
them while attending this institution.
From Colby Hall the scene was shifted to Snowshoe Island, where the
lads went for a mid-winter outing. Here they ran into a most unusual
mystery, and helped an old lumberman to establish his claim to the
island.
In the present volume the boys are back at Colby Hall, but it is time
for the annual encampment of the military school, and soon they depart
for a brief season "Under Canvas." This is at the time of the World
War, and the lads get mixed up in the mystery surrounding a wrecked
submarine. What this led to, I leave for the pages which follow to
relate.
In conclusion I wish to thank my numerous readers for all the nice
things they have said about my books. I trust the reading of the
volumes will do all of them good.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I A GAME OF BASEBALL 1
II ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS 12
III THE AMMUNITION FACTORY EXPLOSIONS 25
IV A RESCUE ON THE LAKE 35
V MEETING OLD ENEMIES 41
VI CELEBRATING THE BASEBALL VICTORY 56
VII FUN WITH CODFISH 66
VIII AN INTERRUPTED FEAST 76
IX A TELEGRAM FROM HOME 87
X ON THE WAY HOME 98
XI TOM ROVER'S DILEMMA 109
XII AT THE ROVER COMPANY OFFICES 120
XIII FUN AT A RAILROAD STATION 132
XIV BACK TO COLBY HALL 142
XV THE ELECTION FOR OFFICERS 153
XVI OFF FOR THE ENCAMPMENT 164
XVII A NIGHT ON THE ROAD 175
XVIII ONE SURPRISE AND ANOTHER 184
XIX AT CAMP BARLIGHT 194
XX FIRST DAYS UNDER CANVAS 202
XXI STRANGE NOISES 212
XXII AT THE RIFLE RANGES 221
XXIII GIRL VISITORS 231
XXIV TOM ROVER'S ANNOUNCEMENT 240
XXV AT CAMP HUXWELL 250
XXVI AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY 260
XXVII ON BOARD THE SUBMARINE 271
XXVIII THE CABIN IN THE WOODS 282
XXIX THE FIGHT ON THE SUBMARINE 291
XXX AN IMPORTANT CAPTURE--CONCLUSION 300
THE ROVER BOYS UNDER CANVAS
CHAPTER I
A GAME OF BASEBALL
"Now for a home run, Jack!"
"Soak it out over the bleachers!"
"Show the Hixley boys what we can do!"
"Give him a swift one, Dink! Don't let him hit it!"
"Oh, dear, I do hope Jack scores!" came in a sweet, girlish voice.
"Of course he'll score!" returned a youth sitting near the girl who
had made the remark. "He's been holding back for just this chance."
"Oh, do you think so?" asked another girl in the grandstand.
"Surest thing ever was," was the airy rejoinder. "This is the time
we're going to show the Hixley boys what's what."
"Not on your life!" bellowed a heavy voice from the rear. "Here is
where Colby Hall gets snowed under."
Then came a series of yells, followed by the tooting of horns and the
sounding of rattles, making a din that was almost ear-splitting.
The occasion was the annual baseball game between Hixley High and
Colby Hall. It had been scheduled to take place on the high-school
athletic field, but at almost the last minute this field had been
declared out of condition, and it had been decided to hold the contest
on the athletic grounds attached to the military academy.
Hixley High was very anxious to win this game. During the previous
fall, as related in a former volume of this series, the high-school
lads had lost the annual football game with Colby Hall by a single
touchdown. This defeat still rankled in their minds, and they were
determined if possible to take the baseball game by a score that
should be well worth while.
And they had good reason to be hopeful of doing this. While their
football team had always been considered by the other teams of that
locality to be of the "second string variety," the baseball nine was a
remarkably strong organization. At its head was Dink Wilsey, a pitcher
who was destined at some time in the future to show himself in one of
the big leagues.
"Why, Dink alone can walk off with that game," was the way more than
one Hixley High student had expressed himself.
But more than this--Hixley High had an exceptionally good first
baseman and a trio of outfielders whose batting average was high.
"We're going to put it all over Colby Hall this trip," was the way the
manager of the Hixley High ball club declared himself on the day
previous to the match.
The game was now at the second half of the sixth inning, and the score
stood, Hixley High, 4; Colby Hall, 2. Colby Hall was at the bat with
two men out and one man at second.
It was therefore no wonder that the military academy students became
anxious when Jack Rover took up his bat and walked to the plate. A
home run would mean the tying of the score, and with a chance to do
even better.
"Take your time, Jack," said Gif Garrison, who was the manager of the
nine. "Make him give you a ball just where you want it."
"Watch yourself!" yelled one of the coaches to the runner at second,
for the Hixley High pitcher had suddenly whirled around, sending the
ball down to the second baseman. There was a quick drop by the runner,
and he escaped getting caught by a few inches only.
"Close shave! Watch yourself, Dan!" yelled Gif Garrison; and Dan
Soppinger, at second, nodded to show that he understood, and then
danced away in the direction of third base as before.
The first ball pitched to Jack Rover was a slow in-curve, and he
stepped back and allowed it to pass him.
"Ball one!"
At this decision a howl of delight went up from the followers of Colby
Hall, while a corresponding groan came from Hixley High.
"That's the eye!"
"Better get a pair of glasses!"
"Sure! The umpire must be blind! That was a perfect ball!"
"Sure it was a perfect ball! That's the reason he called it a ball!"
came from Andy Rover, who sat on the substitutes' bench.
The second ball delivered was a fairly good one, although rather low.
Jack swung at it, and high into the air spun the sphere, well back of
the catcher's head.
"Foul!"
"Run, Billy, you can catch it!"
Flinging off his mask, the Hixley High catcher rushed back toward
where the ball was coming down. But it was too far away for him, and
it struck slantingly on one of the back posts, rolling off toward the
grandstand.
"Line it out, Jack! Don't be fooling with fouls!" yelled Fred Rover.
"Show 'em where the river is!" added Randy Rover.
The next ball to come in was a wide out-curve, and again Jack let it
pass him.
"Ball two!" shouted the umpire.
"That's the way to do it, Jack! Make 'em give you what you want!"
With two balls against him, the noted pitcher for the high school
exercised a little more care in his next delivery. He sent in a
straight, swift one, directly over the outer point of the plate. It
was not exactly what Jack desired, but it was good enough, and he
swung at it with all his strength. Crack! And the ball went sailing
directly over the head of the shortstop and into the field beyond.
"Run, Jack! Run! It's good for a two-bagger!"
"Leg it, Dan! Leg it for home!"
"Send the ball in, Wiffles! Don't let 'em get home!"
These and a hundred other cries rang out as nearly every spectator
sprang to his or her feet in the excitement. Dan Soppinger, half way
to third when Jack made the hit, had now touched that bag and was
tearing for the home plate.
In the meantime Jack, running like a deer, had passed first and was
making for second. The shortstop had made a high but ineffectual jump
for the ball, and now he and the fielder behind him were both after
the sphere. There was a short mix-up, and then the fielder sent the
ball with unerring aim toward the catcher at the home plate.
"Slide, Dan, slide!"
And then Dan Soppinger, running as he had never run before, dropped
down and slid to the plate amid a whirl of dust, followed instantly by
the ball, which landed with a thud in the catcher's mitt.
"He's safe! He's safe!"
"And look! Jack Rover is going to make third!"
Realizing that it was too late to catch the man at the plate, the
catcher threw the ball down to second. But Jack Rover had already
started for third, and now he streaked along with all his might,
arriving at that bag just an instant before the ball followed him.
"That's the way to do it, boy! Keep it up!"
"Oh, he made three bases!" cried one of the girls in the grandstand.
"Isn't that just lovely?"
"I told you he'd do it, Ruth," said another of the girls.
"I wish my cousin Dick was coming up," remarked one of the girls. "I'm
sure he would be able to help them out."
"Never mind, May. He'll be coming up pretty soon," answered Ruth
Stevenson.
The next cadet to the bat was Walt Baxter. Walt was a good all-around
player, but just at present he was not in the best of condition,
having suffered from a touch of the grippe early in the season.
"Bang out a homer, Walt!" sang out Andy Rover.
"Never mind that, Walt. Make a safe hit and bring Jack in," said Gif
Garrison.
"I'll do my best," answered Walt Baxter. But it was plainly to be seen
that his recent illness had rendered him somewhat nervous. He had a
ball and a strike called on him, and then got another strike through a
little foul that passed over one of the coaches' heads. Then Dink
Wilsey passed him a slow, tantalizing ball. Walt connected with it but
sent up only a pop fly, which the third baseman gathered in with ease.
"Hurrah! that's the way to hold 'em down," came the cry from one of
the high-school boys.
"Gee, old man, it's too bad you didn't have a chance to bring that run
in," remarked Gif Garrison to Jack Rover, as the latter walked in from
third base.
"Well, anyway, I brought Dan in," returned Jack, as cheerfully as he
could.
"Yes; but if you had got in that would have tied the score," went on
the manager. "However, the game isn't over yet."
"Over! Why, we've just begun to play!" returned Jack, with a grin.
"That's the talk!" cried Andy Rover. "Colby Hall forever! Now then,
boys, all together!" he yelled, turning to the grandstand. And a
moment later there boomed out this refrain:
"Who are we?
Can't you see?
Colby Hall!
Dum! Dum! Dum, dum, dum!
Here we come with fife and drum!
Colby! Colby! Colby Hall!"
And then followed a great yelling and tooting of horns and sounding of
rattles.
"My gracious! if they keep on I'll surely become deaf," said Martha
Rover.
"I think I had better retire from this game," remarked Walt Baxter, as
he faced the manager. "I told you I didn't feel like going in, and
now I am sure I should have kept out of it."
"All right, Walt. I'll be sorry to lose you," answered Gif. And then
he told Andy Rover to get ready to get into the game.
With a score still 4 to 3 in their favor, Hixley High opened the
seventh inning with vigor. They managed to get a man on first, and
then on a sacrifice advanced him to second. Then came a two-bagger,
and the play made by Colby Hall in the ending of the sixth inning was
repeated by their opponents, thus making the score 5 to 3.
On their part Colby Hall tried its best to score during the seventh,
but was doomed to disappointment.
Then came the eighth inning with a goose egg placed on the board for
each nine.
"Say, this begins to look bad for us," remarked Will Hendry, the
fattest boy at Colby Hall. "It looks as if Hixley High was going to
have a sweet revenge."
In the Hixley High half of the ninth inning Dink Wilsey showed what a
very good all-around player he was. The noted pitcher cracked out a
home run, making the tally with ease. Fortunately this was at a time
when there was no one on base, so that only one run was scored. Two
men were out, and the next player knocked a fly to short, which was
gathered in by Frank Newberry with ease.
"Hurrah! Score another for Hixley High!"
"That makes the score six to three!"
"I guess this game is as good as won!"
So the cries ran on among the high-school scholars and their friends.
The Colby Hall contingent was, of course, much downcast, but they
refused to show it, and once more the slogan of the military academy
boomed forth.
"Now, boys, pull yourselves together and go at 'em hammer and tongs,"
cried Gif Garrison. "Watch the pitcher. Don't let Dink put anything
over you."
Fred Rover was at the bat, and he managed to make a safe hit. He was
followed by a player who made another safe hit, thus advancing Fred to
second. Then came two outs, but in the mix-up Fred managed to steal to
third, while the player on first got down to second. Jack Rover was
now once more to the bat, and all of his friends were yelling at the
top of their lungs for him to "Knock the hide off the ball!" "Send it
over the back fence!" "Show 'em where the other side of the river is!"
and to "Wipe up the field with Hixley High!"
One ball was called, and then a strike. Then came another strike, and
things began to look gloomy for Colby Hall. But then Jack got a ball
exactly where he wanted it, and he swung at it with every ounce of
muscle he could command. Crack! went the bat, and the sphere went
sailing far down in left field.
"That's the way to do it! Run, boys, run!"
"Come on home, Jack!"
Fred, on third, was already streaking for home, and close behind him
came the player who had been on second. In the meanwhile, Jack raced
to first and around to second, and then came plowing up to third.
"Hold it, Rover! Hold it!"
"Come on in--don't wait! Come on in!"
Jack looked down into the field and saw that the fielder was just in
the act of picking up the ball. With a great bound, he started for the
home plate, and when ten feet from that place dropped to the ground
and slid in with the rapidity of lightning.
"He's safe! A home run!"
"That ties the score!"
"Now then, boys, go in and finish 'em up!"
The din and excitement was now tremendous. The score was indeed a tie.
Which club would win?
CHAPTER II
ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
"Now then, fellows, don't forget to bring in the winning run!"
"Show Hixley High what we can do!"
And then came a rousing cheer from the Colby Hall cadets, and once
more they gave the well-known military academy refrain.
Any ordinary pitcher might have been nervous over the prospect ahead
of him; but Dink Wilsey was not one of that caliber, and he faced the
next batsman as coolly as he had all of the others. Two balls were
called, and then two strikes, and then two more balls, and the batsman
walked to first base.
"Hurrah! he's afraid to give him the kind we chew up."
"Maybe he'll let the next man walk, too!" cried another.
But this was not to be. The next cadet up went out on a foul, and the
inning came to a sudden end.
"A tie! A tie! The game is a tie!"
"Now for the winning run! Hixley High!"
"That's the stuff! Larsen to the bat! And, my, won't he wallop that
ball!"
Larsen was the Hixley High center fielder--a tall, sturdy youth with
blue eyes and light hair, of Norwegian descent. He came to the plate
with a "do-or-die" look on his face. He allowed two balls to pass him,
only one of which, however, was called a strike. Then he made a sweep
for the next ball, sending it out in a red-hot liner toward Jack.
Many a young ball player would have stepped out of the way with such a
red-hot variety of baseball coming his way. But not so Jack Rover.
Like a flash his hands went out and he caught the ball firmly,
although the impact of the sphere whirled him half way around.
"Gee, look at that!"
"I wouldn't have caught that ball for a thousand dollars!"
A great shout of approval rang out, and during this Gif hurried over
to Jack's side.
"How about it--did it hurt you any?" he questioned quickly.
"It stung me a little, that's all," was Jack's reply. His hands burnt
like fire, but he did not intend to let anybody know it.
"One down! Now for the other two!" came the cry.
"Not much! Here is where we score!"
But alas for the hopes of Hixley High! The next man up went out on
strikes, and the fellow to follow knocked a foul which was easily
gathered in by the third baseman.
"Now here is where we bring home the bacon!" cried Ned Lowe, one of
the Colby Hall fans.
Andy Rover had been burning to distinguish himself, and now his chance
came. First to the bat, he made a very neat base hit. Then, however,
came an out, and the Colby Hall boys were, for a moment, downcast. But
they quickly recovered when the next player made a single and Andy
slid around safely to third.
"Now then, a hit! Just a neat little hit!" came the entreating cry.
"Oh, if only they do get it!" murmured Ruth Stevenson. "I wish Jack
was at the bat."
"It's my cousin Dick!" cried May Powell, and she was right--Spouter
Powell was up.
Spouter was not a particularly strong ball player, but he had one
feature which was in his favor--he knew how to keep cool, and that
helped greatly in this heart-breaking emergency. He waited calmly
until two strikes and two balls had been called, and then he struck a
low one, sending it just inside the first-base line. It slipped past
the baseman, and as Spouter's feet crossed the bag, Fred Rover slid in
safely to the home plate.
"Hurrah! Hurrah! Colby Hall wins!"
Then followed a wild cheering and yelling, in the midst of which the
crowds on the bleachers and the grandstand broke forth to mingle with
the players on the ball field. Of course, the Hixley High students
were much crestfallen, yet they tried to take their defeat in good
part.
"Three cheers for Hixley High!" shouted Gif Garrison, and they were
given with a will. Then followed a cheer from the high-school students
for those of the military academy, and then the crowd started to
disperse.
"Oh, boys! some celebration to-night, what?" cried Randy Rover, and in
the exuberance of his spirits he turned several handsprings on the
grass.
"You bet we'll celebrate!" exclaimed his cousin Fred.
"Say! we ought to shoot off the old cannon for this," burst out Andy
Rover. He referred to an ancient fieldpiece located on the front lawn
of the school.
"Too dangerous," interposed his cousin Jack. "That old cannon is too
rusty, and it would fly into a million pieces."
"Yes, but we might----"
_Boom!_
It was a loud explosion coming from a considerable distance. The
cadets, as well as all the others gathered on the ball field, looked
at each other in surprise.
"What could that have been?" questioned Fred Rover.
"Sounds like a big cannon going off," answered Walt Baxter.
_Boom! Boom!_
Two more explosions rent the air, both much louder than the first. The
very ground seemed to be shaken by the concussion.
"Say, that sounds like a warship!"
"No warships around here," was the answer.
"Maybe it's a German Zeppelin!"
"Gee! do you suppose the Germans have come over here to bombard us?"
_Boom! Boom! Boom!_
Several more explosions came now close upon the others, each explosion
heavier than those which had gone before. The ground all around seemed
to tremble, and those who were still in the grandstand cried out in
alarm.
"The grandstand is going down! Everybody jump for his life!"
"Look! Look!" was the sudden cry from Jack Rover, and he pointed to a
place on the opposite shore of Clearwater Lake. A dense volume of
smoke was rolling skyward. Then came another tremendous explosion, and
a mass of wreckage could be seen to be lifted skyward.
"It's the Hasley ammunition factory going up!" cried Fred Rover. "What
an awful thing to happen!"
"That factory is right across the lake from our school!" cried Martha
Rover. "I wonder if it will damage that place any?"
"I shouldn't be surprised," answered her cousin Andy. And then he
added quickly: "I hope Mary will be safe."
"Oh, oh! do you think Mary is in danger?" cried Ruth Stevenson, who
had just joined the others. Mary was Fred Rover's sister, who had been
left behind at the girls' boarding school because she had been
suffering that day with a severe headache, and had said she preferred
resting to attending the ball game, even though she loved to be with
the others.
"There goes another building!" yelled Andy Rover, as another report
rent the air. Then those who were looking down the river and across
the lake saw some strange objects being hurled through the sky in the
direction of Clearwater Hall.
"If that whole ammunition factory starts to go up, it will certainly
mean damage to the boarding school," declared Jack. "I guess the best
we can do is to get down there and see if Mary is safe."
"That's just what I say!" declared Fred. "I'm going to get down there
just as fast as I can." And he ran off, to board one of the
automobiles headed in that direction.
Now, I know it will not be at all necessary to introduce the Rover
boys or their friends to my old readers, but for the benefit of those
who have not perused any of my former stories a few words concerning
these characters will be necessary. In the first volume, entitled "The
Rover Boys at School," I told how three brothers, Dick, Tom, and Sam
Rover, were sent off to Putnam Hall Military Academy, where they made
a great number of friends, including a youth named Lawrence Colby.
From Putnam Hall the lads went to Brill College, and on leaving that
institution of learning went into business in New York City with
offices on Wall Street. They organized The Rover Company, of which
Dick was now president, Tom secretary and general manager, and Sam
treasurer.
While at Putnam Hall the three Rovers had become acquainted with three
very charming girls, Dora Stanhope and her two cousins, Nellie and
Grace Laning, and when Dick went into business he made Dora Stanhope
his lifelong partner. A short time later Tom married Nellie Laning and
Sam married Grace.
The three brothers purchased a fine plot of ground on Riverside Drive
overlooking the noble Hudson River, and there they built three
connecting houses, Dick and his family living in the middle house,
with Tom on one side and Sam on the other.
About a year after their marriage Dick and his wife became the proud
parents of a little son, who was named John after Mr. Laning. This son
was followed by a daughter, called Martha after her great-aunt Martha
of Valley Brook Farm, where the older Rovers had spent many of their
younger days. Little Jack, as he was commonly called, was a manly lad
with many of the qualities which had made his father so well liked and
so successful.
It was about this time that Tom and Nellie Rover came to the front
with a surprise for all of the others. This was in the shape of a pair
of very lively twins, one of whom was named Anderson, after his
grandfather, and the other, Randolph, after his great-uncle Randolph
of Valley Brook Farm. Andy and Randy, as they were always called, were
very active lads, in that particular being a second edition of their
father.
About the time Tom's twins were born Sam and Grace Rover came along
with a beautiful little girl, whom they named Mary after Mrs. Laning.
Then, a year later, the girl was followed by a sturdy boy, christened
Fred after Sam Rover's old and well-known school chum, Fred Garrison.
Residing so close together, the younger generation of Rover boys, as
well as their sisters, were brought up very much like one family. They
spent their winters usually in New York City, and during the summer
often went out to Valley Brook Farm, where their grandfather, Anderson
Rover, still resided with Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha.
At first the boys and girls had been sent to private schools in the
Metropolis; but soon the lads, led by Andy and Randy, showed such a
propensity for "cutting loose" that their parents were compelled to
hold a consultation.
"We'll have to do as Uncle Randolph did with us," said Dick Rover.
"We'll have to send them to some strict boarding school--some military
academy." And to this the others had agreed.
Some time previous their old school chum, Lawrence Colby, who had
since become a colonel in the state militia, had opened a military
academy, called Colby Hall.
"We'll send them to that place," was the decision of the older Rovers.
"Lawrence Colby is just the fellow to make them behave themselves, and
as we are such good friends he will be sure to give them extra
attention."
So the boys were sent off to this school, as related in detail in the
first volume of my second series, entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby
Hall." This military school was located about half a mile from the
town of Haven Point on Clearwater Lake, a beautiful sheet of water
about two miles long and nearly half a mile wide. At the head of the
lake was the Rick Rack River, running down from the hills and woods
beyond.
The school consisted of a large stone building, facing the river at a
point not far from where the stream emptied into the lake. It was a
three-storied structure, and contained the classrooms and a mess hall
and also the dormitories and private rooms for the scholars. Close by
was a smaller brick building, occupied by Colonel Colby and his family
and some of the professors.
On the opposite side was an up-to-date gymnasium, while at the water's
edge were a number of small buildings used as boathouses and bathing
pavilions. Behind the hall were a stable and barn, and also a garage,
and further back were a large garden and several farm fields and a
great athletic field where the boys played baseball in the spring and
football in the fall.
On arriving at Colby Hall the young Rovers had found several of their
friends awaiting them, one of these being Dick Powell, the son of
Songbird Powell, a former schoolmate of their fathers. Dick was always
called Spouter because of his fondness for long speeches. Another was
Gifford, the son of Fred Garrison, after whom Fred Rover had been
named. There was also Walter Baxter, a son of Dan Baxter, who years
before had been an enemy of the older Rovers, but who had now reformed
and was doing very well.
Before coming to Colby Hall, Jack Rover had had a quarrel in New York
City with a tall, dudish youth, named Napoleon Martell. Nappy Martell,
as he was called by his cronies, was a cadet at the military academy,
and he and his crony, an overgrown bully named Slugger Brown, did what
they could to make trouble for the Rovers. But one of their
underhanded transactions was exposed, and they were sent away from the
academy for the time being.
As mentioned, Colby Hall was located about half a mile beyond Haven
Point. On the opposite side of the town was located Clearwater Hall,
a boarding school for girls. During a panic in a moving-picture
theater Jack and his cousins became acquainted with a number of these
girls, including Ruth Stevenson, May Powell, Alice Strobell, and Annie
Larkins. They found out that May was Spouter Powell's cousin, and the
whole crowd of young people soon became friends. Later on Mary and
Martha Rover became pupils at the girls' school.
Ruth Stevenson had an old uncle Barney, who in times past had had a
bitter quarrel with Ruth's parents. The Rover boys once went out
hunting, and on this occasion saved the old man's life, as related in
"The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island." For this the old man was
exceedingly grateful, and as a result he invited them to spend their
winter holidays on Snowshoe Island, a place which he said he owned and
of which he was very proud.
The boys traveled to this island and had many adventures while hunting
and otherwise. They found out that the father of Slogwell Brown,
always called Slugger by his comrades, was laying claim to the island.
This man, backed up by Asa Lemm, a discharged teacher of Colby Hall,
and backed up likewise by his son Slugger and Nappy Martell, did all
he could to take possession of the property. But the Rover boys
exposed the plot, and held the rascals at bay, and in the end old
Barney Stevenson's claim to the land was made safe. During the time on
the island Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell had stolen a tin box
containing some valuable papers from the old man, and for this they
had at first been threatened with arrest, but had been allowed to go
when Slugger's father gave up his claim to the place.
"You think you're smart, don't you?" Slugger Brown had grumbled to
Jack when he was ready to depart from Snowshoe Island. "You just wait,
Jack Rover! I'm not going to forget you and your cousins in a hurry!"
"And I won't forget you either," Nappy Martell had added. "We'll get
even with you when you least expect it."
But for quite a while now none of the Rovers had seen or heard
anything more of Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell. But they were
destined to hear more from these two unworthies, and in a most unusual
fashion.
CHAPTER III
THE AMMUNITION FACTORY EXPLOSIONS
"Oh, I do hope Mary is safe!" cried Martha Rover, as she and the
others ran toward where the automobiles which had brought them over to
Colby Hall from the girls' boarding school were standing.
"So far those explosions haven't reached Clearwater Hall," answered
her brother Jack. "But there is no telling what a real heavy explosion
may do."
"That's just it!" burst out his cousin Randy. "For all we know, those
Hasley people may have a large quantity of TNT or some other high
explosive stored there, and if that should go up--good-night!"
"It would be fierce!"
"I think it's awful to allow those ammunition people to have their
works so close to a town," was Ruth Stevenson's comment.
_Boom! Boom!_
Two more explosions rent the air. Then followed a series of poppings
like the discharge of a machine gun.
"Those must be some of the small shells going off," said Andy. "Gosh,
what a shame they couldn't have held this back until the Fourth of
July!" he added. Andy would probably have wanted to joke at his own
funeral.
The Rovers and their girl friends were soon seated in the automobiles
which they had used earlier in the day to bring the girls to Colby
Hall. With them went as many of the other cadets and their friends as
could pile into the machines or hang fast to the running boards. All
of the ball players went in their baseball outfits, not taking time to
change to their uniforms.
The Rovers and their friends were among the first to leave the
military institution, and for this reason they got away without any
trouble. They had scarcely departed when Captain Mapes Dale, the
military instructor attached to the school, appeared and forbade any
more of the cadets to leave the grounds.
"There is no telling how dangerous those explosions may become," said
Captain Dale, "and Colonel Colby thinks it is best that you remain
here where it is comparatively safe. Even as it is, we may have some
big shells coming this way."
The Hasley Shell Loading Company had been located on the opposite
shore of Clearwater Lake for a number of years previous to the opening
of the war in Europe. But at that time it had been only a small
concern, employing but a handful of men. A year after the opening of
hostilities, however, the plant had been enlarged, and now, since the
entrance of the United States into the war, the force of workmen had
been again doubled and many additional buildings had been erected,
some along the lake front and others in the hills further back. A spur
of the railroad had also been built to the plant, and on this were
numerous cars, all painted to show the dangerous nature of the freight
they were destined to carry.
On two different occasions the Rover boys and their chums had rowed
over to the vicinity of the shell-loading works to look at what was
going on. Guards around the works, however, had kept them from landing
or even getting within a reasonable distance of the place. This, they
knew, was done because the authorities feared that some spies might
try to get into the buildings with a view to blowing them up.
"Gee, that certainly sounds like war!" cried Andy, as the explosions
continued. There was a continual popping of small shells, punctured
every now and then by a decidedly heavier explosion.
"My gracious! Look at that!" burst out Jack a moment later.
What the oldest Rover boy referred to was a curious explosion of a
quantity of shells which seemed to go up in the form of an immense
sheaf of wheat. Thousands of small objects filled the air, flying off
in all directions of the compass.
"I'll bet we'll get some of those over here!" exclaimed Gif Garrison,
who was clinging to the running board of the machine.
And he was right. Only a few seconds later several small bits of metal
came down around them, two striking the hood of the automobile and one
falling into the tonneau on Ruth's lap.
It did not take those in the automobile long to cover the half mile
which lay between them and Haven Point, where the railroad station was
located. Here they found the town people in great excitement, and
learned that steps were already being taken to care for any of the
workmen who might be injured by the explosions.
"Of course we have no idea yet how many people have been killed or
wounded," declared a policeman who gave the cadets this information.
"We are all upset because we don't know how bad the explosions may
get. If they don't get any worse than they have been, we'll be
thankful."
The cadets and their girl friends did not remain long in Haven Point.
All were anxious to get to Clearwater Hall, to learn if that place was
much damaged. The girls' school was directly opposite the
shell-loading plant, and consequently more liable to suffer than the
town or Colby Hall.
"Look at them getting away from that place, will you?" cried Fred, who
had come as far as Haven Point on another automobile and then had
rejoined his cousins. He pointed to the lake, where a number of
rowboats and other craft were leaving the vicinity of the explosions.
"You can't blame them for wanting to get away," returned Jack. "It may
mean life or death to them."
"Oh, I hope nobody has been killed!" murmured Ruth.
"I'm afraid, Ruth, that's too much to expect," answered Jack soberly.
"Oh, I just think war is too horrible for anything!" cried out Alice
Strobell, who was along.
"I just wish they could sink all those Germans in their old
submarines!" declared Annie Larkins who was also in the crowd.
"I guess we'd all be willing to subscribe to that!" cried Randy.
"You just wait until Uncle Sam gets into this scrap," declared Jack.
"We'll show 'em what's what!"
"How I wish I could go to the front," said Andy wistfully. "It would
beat going to school all hollow."
"Now that we've gone into the war, we'll have an army over there
before long," said Spouter. "I suppose they'll send some of the
regulars over first, and then some of the national guard--of course
taken into the regular army--and after that we'll have the volunteers.
I suppose if Uncle Sam really wanted to do it, he could get together
several million men without half trying. And with an army like that,
properly trained and equipped, and transported to the battlefields of
Europe, we shall be sure to make a showing which will throw terror
into the hearts of----"
"Hurrah! Spouter is off again," broke in Randy.
"Say, Spout! they ought to send you to the front to help talk the Huns
to death," put in Andy. "Talk about gas and gas masks----"
"Aw say! you're always butting in when I've got something to say,"
growled the lad who loved to talk.
There might have been a little friction right then and there, but
another explosion came from across Clearwater Lake, and all stopped to
gaze at the thick volume of yellowish-black smoke which rolled
directly toward them.
"The wind must be shifting," declared Jack, for all of the smoke
heretofore had rolled up the lake shore.
"It's too bad it is coming this way," said Ruth. "Miss Garwood
declares that a good deal of smoke from such shells is poisonous."
Miss Garwood was the head of the school for girls, and likewise an
authority in chemistry.
The road was filled with automobiles going and coming, and Randy had
all he could do to send the machine along without getting into some
sort of collision. The heavy smoke continued to roll across the lake,
and soon they were in the midst of this. It had a curious pungent odor
to it, which set them to sneezing and coughing.
"No fun in this, I must say," declared Jack. The girls all had their
handkerchiefs to their faces, and May Powell looked as if she was
getting sick.
In a minute more they came within sight of Clearwater Hall, a large
structure setting back in well-kept grounds. There were numerous
bushes and flowers and quite a number of fair-sized trees.
Several automobiles had reached the school ahead of them so the scene
was one of animation. Town people, as well as scholars from the
Hixley High School, mingled with the cadets and the girls from
Clearwater Hall.
"Go on in and find Mary," said Jack to his sister. "Tell her we are
here to help her in case anything happens."
Martha rushed off, followed by Ruth, and the two soon located Fred's
sister. She was in a rear room of the school, along with a number of
the other pupils and one of the assistant teachers.
"Oh, I'm so glad you've come!" declared Mary Rover. "What a dreadful
thing this is getting to be!"
"I suppose it has made your head ache worse than ever," said Martha
sympathetically.
"No, strange to say, it's just the other way around," declared Fred's
sister, with a faint smile. "Those explosions seemed to have shocked
the headache all away."
Mary was glad to join the others, and the Rovers and their friends
proceeded to one of the reception rooms of the school. In the meantime
the explosions across the lake continued, but seemed to be gradually
dying down.
"It looks to me as if the worst was over," remarked Fred, after there
had been comparative silence for fully a quarter of an hour.
"Say, I'm going down to the lake front to see what's doing," declared
Randy, a little later. "Perhaps we can be of some assistance."
"That's the talk! We can't do anything more here," returned his twin.
"Let's all go down!" cried Jack. "We ought to be able to do something
for those poor workmen who have been hurt." And then, turning to Ruth,
he continued: "If there are any more big explosions and this place
seems to be in danger, we'll be back."
"Oh, Jack! I don't want you to run into any danger down at the lake
shore," said the girl, looking at him pleadingly with her big brown
eyes.
"I guess we'll be able to take care of ourselves," he answered
lightly. But it pleased him a great deal to have Ruth so full of
consideration for him.
Leaving their automobiles in the school grounds, the Rovers and their
chums left the place, crossed the highway, and followed the footpath
leading down to the Clearwater Hall boathouse. Here they found only a
few people congregated, the heavy-rolling clouds of smoke keeping a
good many away.
"Not very pleasant here," was Gif Garrison's comment, after the smoke
had made him cough. "I don't think I'm going to stay."
"Neither am I," said Spouter. And presently he and quite a few others
left, leaving the four Rovers to themselves.
"You know what I've got an idea of doing?" declared Jack. "Why not get
out one of the Clearwater Hall boats and row over a little closer to
that place? We may be able to be of some assistance to some of the
workmen."
The others were willing, and soon a large rowboat was brought out,
with two pairs of oars, and the four Rovers manned it and sent it well
out into the lake.
"We've got to keep our eyes open in this smoke," declared Jack. "It's
worse than a fog."
"You're right there," returned Randy. "If some of those poor
chaps----"
_Boom!_
Another terrific explosion cut short what he was saying. The very
water under the rowboat seemed to shake, and the air presently was
filled with flying missiles dropping all around them. Then, as Andy
stood up in an endeavor to get a better view of the situation,
something came flying through the air, hit him on the shoulder, and
hurled him overboard!
CHAPTER IV
A RESCUE ON THE LAKE
"Andy's overboard!"
"Grab him, somebody!"
"Wow! what is this anyway--a bombardment?"
Such were the cries coming from the three Rovers when they saw the
luckless Andy lose his balance and go over into the lake with a
splash.
"It's fire coming down! We've got to get out of this!" cried Fred, a
few seconds later.
The youngest of the Rovers was right. It was indeed a rain of fire
that had suddenly descended upon them through the pall of
yellowish-black smoke. It was falling into the boat and on their
persons. Where it struck the lake it sent out a curious hissing sound.
"Come--let us get Andy aboard again and row out of this as quickly as
possible!" gasped Jack.
Andy had disappeared from view, but only for a few seconds. He came
up, thrashing around wildly, for he had been almost stunned by the
thing which had struck him, a block of wood carried up from the
ammunition plant by one of the explosions.
"Steady, Andy, steady! We'll save you!" called out his twin, and as
Fred and Jack sent the rowboat in the luckless one's direction, Randy
bent over and grabbed his brother by the hand. Then, taking care that
the craft should not tip over, Fred and Randy pulled Andy aboard.
"Are you much hurt?" questioned Randy anxiously.
"I--I don't know," was the gasped-out reply. "I--I don't think so,
though. What did you slam me in the back for?" Andy demanded of Jack,
who had been behind him.
"I didn't hit you. It was a block of wood which came sailing over from
the ammunition factory," was the quick reply. "Come on--we've got to
get out of here, or the first thing you know we'll be on fire."
"Better wet your clothing," said Andy. "It may help a whole lot."
This was good advice, and the others lost no time in filling their
baseball caps with water, which they sprinkled over their shoulders
and the other portions of their baseball outfits. They also wet down
the bow and stern seats of the rowboat. Then they grabbed up their
oars and commenced to row up the lake, trying to get out of the range
of both the fire and the smoke.
"Here is what the fire consists of," declared Fred presently, when he
caught a whisp of it on his arm. "It's nothing but oil-soaked waste.
They must have had a whole lot of it at that plant, and one of the
explosions sent it high into the air and scattered it in every
direction."
The boys continued on their way for a few minutes, and then ran into
another cloud of smoke. This was of a peculiar bluish-green cast, and
seemed so sulphurous they were nearly choked by it.
"Listen!" burst out Andy. "I think I heard somebody calling."
He held up one hand for silence, and all listened attentively. In
spite of the roaring of the flames, which were now devouring several
of the buildings at the shell-loading plant, and the continual popping
of some of the smaller shells, all heard a frantic cry for assistance.
"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.
