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THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG HORN RANCH
or
The Cowboys' Double Round-Up
by
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)
Author of "The Rover Boys at School," "The Rover Boys
on Treasure Isle," "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall,"
"The Putnam Hall Cadets Series," etc.
Illustrated
[Illustration: ANDY AND FRED FOUND THE ROCKS ANYTHING BUT EASY TO ASCEND.
Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch (Page 271)]
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 ROVER BOYS ON A HUNT
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE LAND OF LUCK
THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG HORN RANCH
THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES
THE CADETS OF PUTNAM HALL
THE RIVALS OF PUTNAM HALL
THE CHAMPIONS OF PUTNAM HALL
THE REBELLION OF PUTNAM HALL
CAMPING OUT DAYS AT PUTNAM HALL
THE MYSTERY AT PUTNAM HALL
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
Copyright, 1922, by
EDWARD STRATEMEYER
The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch
* * * * *
INTRODUCTION
My Dear Boys: This book is a complete story in itself, but forms the
sixth volume in a line issued under the general title, "The Second Rover
Boys Series for Young Americans."
As noted in some volumes of the first series, this line was started years
ago with the publication of "The Rover Boys at School," "On the Ocean,"
and "In the Jungle," in which I introduced my readers to Dick, Tom and
Sam Rover and their relatives and friends. The twenty 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 finished their education, the three young men established
themselves in business and became married. Dick Rover was blessed with a
son and a daughter, as was also his brother Sam, while Tom became the
proud father of a pair of the liveliest kind of twin boys.
From their home in New York City the young Rovers were sent to a boarding
school, as related in the first volume of the Second Series, entitled
"The Rover Boys at Colby Hall." From that institution of learning the
scene was shifted to "Snowshoe Island," where the lads spent a mid-winter
outing. Then they rejoined their fellow-cadets and had some strenuous
doings while "Under Canvas." After that, in a volume entitled "The Rover
Boys on a Hunt," I related how they uncovered the mystery surrounding a
strange house in the woods. And following this came a trip to Texas and
Oklahoma, where, "In the Land of Luck," the boys aided Dick Rover in his
efforts to locate some valuable oil wells.
In the present volume the scene is shifted back to Colby Hall and then to
a ranch in the West where some remarkable happenings await our young
heroes.
From reports received I am assured that the sale of this line of books
has now passed the _three million_ mark! This is as astonishing as it is
gratifying. I sincerely trust that the reading of the volumes will do all
of the boys and girls good.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
Edward Stratemeyer.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Snow and Snowballs 1
II. Something about the Rover Boys 13
III. What the Sneak Told 23
IV. Prisoners 35
V. By the Fishing-Pole Route 46
VI. A Touch of Mystery 58
VII. Something about a Sleighride Party 70
VIII. A Fight and a Challenge 82
IX. The Shooting Contest 93
X. Spouter's Secret 103
XI. The Election of Officers 113
XII. Bonfire Night 123
XIII. A Startling Discovery 133
XIV. The Parade 145
XV. Baseball 156
XVI. Spouter Is Cornered 166
XVII. Good-Bye to School 175
XVIII. On the Way West 184
XIX. In the Saddle 193
XX. At Big Horn Ranch 204
XXI. Hop Lung and the Fish 213
XXII. A Horse and a Snake 222
XXIII. Jarley Bangs 232
XXIV. A New Arrival 242
XXV. Professor Duke's Secret 254
XXVI. The Cattle Stampede 264
XXVII. The Mountain Lion 274
XXVIII. In the Cave 284
XXIX. A Confession 294
XXX. The Capture--Conclusion 303
THE ROVER BOYS AT
BIG HORN RANCH
CHAPTER I
SNOW AND SNOWBALLS
"Line up, fellows! No crowding ahead in this contest."
"Here, Jack, give me some elbow room if you want me to do any real
snowball throwing!" cried Fred Rover.
"All the elbow room you want," returned his cousin gayly.
"Remember the prize!" shouted Andy Rover to the cadets who were stringing
themselves out in a ragged line. "The first fellow to throw a snowball
over the top of the barn gets a sock doughnut."
"For gracious sake! what do you call a sock doughnut?" demanded Phil
Franklin, another cadet, as he paused in the act of rounding up a
snowball he was making.
"A sock doughnut is one with a big hole in it," answered Andy, with a
grin.
"Then my socks must be all of the doughnut variety," put in one of the
cadets dolefully. "They are always full of holes."
"Never mind the socks now!" cried Randy Rover. "Let's see who can put the
first snowball over the barn."
It was late in the afternoon of a day in January and a number of the
cadets of Colby Hall had been amusing themselves in the snow which
covered the ground to a depth of nearly a foot. They had started in to
snowballing each other, but had then grown more serious and had built
several snow forts and likewise two or three snowmen which later they had
taken great sport in knocking apart. Then some one had suggested that
they try their skill at seeing who could throw, the highest and farthest,
and this had led to the present contest.
"We'll mark off a line about a hundred feet from the main barn," Jack
Rover had announced. "And then we'll see who can throw highest over the
roof."
The four Rovers were accompanied by half a dozen of their chums and six
or eight others, and at the word from Jack the snowballs began to fly at
a lively rate, a few landing on the roof of the big barn and the majority
hitting the side.
"Say, look out that you don't break a window," warned Gif Garrison. "If
you do, you'll have an account to settle with Captain Dale."
"Here she goes!" yelled Dan Soppinger, and let fly with so much strength
that the snowball sailed up to the very ridgepole of the barn and
disappeared on the other side.
"Hurrah! Dan draws first blood!" shouted Jack.
"Huh! Dan didn't throw over the barn, he just slid over it," snickered
Randy.
Jack was hard at work making a small and perfectly round ball. Now,
taking careful aim, he let fly with all his might.
"There she goes fair and square," he announced with pardonable pride, as
the snowball cleared the top of the barn by several feet and disappeared
beyond.
The snowball had scarcely been thrown when two other balls thrown by Fred
and another cadet went sailing over the barn. Then those in the contest
seemed to acquire better skill, and soon nearly every one of them was
topping the barn with the missiles.
"Phew! some hot work, I'll say," panted Will Hendry, usually called Fatty
because he was the stoutest boy in the school.
"This exercise will do you good, Fatty," returned Fred. "You need to
reduce."
"If Fatty keeps on he'll be eating Colby Hall poor," announced Spouter
Powell.
"Huh! I don't eat any more than any of you," grumbled Fatty. "Fact is, I
hold myself down."
"Gee! listen to that, will you?" exclaimed Andy. "Fatty says he holds
himself down! And this morning I saw him storing away three helpings of
sausages and about 'steen dozen buckwheat cakes."
"Nothing of the kind! I didn't have a bit more than you had," growled
Hendry. He broke off suddenly. "Hello! what's up now?"
"Hi! Hi! What's the meaning o' this?" cried a voice from around one end
of the big barn, and a man, dressed in overalls and a heavy cap and
carrying a broom, appeared.
"Hello there, Bob Nixon!" cried Jack. "What's wrong?"
"There'll be a whole lot wrong if you fellows keep on throwing those
snowballs much farther," answered Bob Nixon, who was a chauffeur for the
Hall and who did all sorts of odd jobs in the winter time.
"Did we hit you?" questioned Phil Franklin.
"You sure did--on the back and on my hand," answered Nixon.
"We didn't know anybody was around on that side of the barn," announced
Andy.
"I don't suppose you did. But never mind me. What I want to know is, do
you fellows intend to smash all the glass in those hotbed frames out
yonder?"
"Great salt mackerel!" ejaculated Fred. "I forgot those hotbed frames
were there."
"Why, the glass is out of 'em, anyway, isn't it?" questioned Gif.
"It was out. But they've been setting some of 'em in again, getting ready
for some early stuff. You've sent those snowballs up to within ten or
fifteen feet of where the frames are located."
"Gosh! it's a good thing you told us of this," burst out Fatty Hendry.
"We might have had a nice lot of glassware to pay for."
"Not you, Fatty," grinned Andy. "You never even hit the top of the barn.
If you break any glass it will be in some of those basement windows."
"Come on up to the other end of the barn," suggested Gif. "Then the
snowballs will fly right out into the open field and do no harm."
"Well, I don't care where you throw 'em as long as you don't get into
mischief," answered Bob Nixon, and disappeared into the barn.
After that the cadets continued to throw over the structure for some
time. But then they gradually lost interest, and as the short winter day
was coming rapidly to an end some hurried into the Hall to do a little
extra school work before the bell should ring for supper.
"Well, what next?" questioned Fred Rover, when he and his three cousins
and Gif, Phil and Spouter found themselves left alone.
"I've got a great scheme for to-night if you fellows will help,"
announced Randy. He and his twin brother were always ready for a joke.
"What is it?" questioned Jack quickly.
"This snow is just soft enough for rolling some big balls, as we found
out this afternoon," answered his cousin. "What's the matter with making
a whole lot of big snowballs and placing 'em in some of the bedrooms
to-night?"
"Gee, that's the talk!" cried his twin merrily. "I'd like to place a
couple in Codfish's room."
"He certainly deserves 'em," added Fred. "He's getting to be just as big
a sneak as he ever was. All of our kindness to him seems to have been
useless."
"And I thought he was going to turn over a new leaf," declared Jack. "I
wonder if some of the other fellows haven't been teasing him and that has
made him go back to his old tricks."
"I know one person I'd like to treat to some big snowballs!" broke out
Fred. "That's Professor Duke."
"Oh, say! I'd like to square up with him myself," burst out Andy. "Gee!
he certainly did have it in for us yesterday."
"Professor Duke is certainly a sour one--much worse than Asa Lemm ever
dared to be," came from Gif.
"I was thinking of Duke when I mentioned it," said Randy. "You know he
has his room in our building instead of with the other professors in
Colonel Colby's residence."
"We don't want to get in bad with the colonel," remarked Fred seriously.
"Oh, I think we can fix it so that nobody will know who did it," returned
his cousin.
The matter was talked over for several minutes, and then, having agreed
on their plan for more fun, the Rover boys and their chums set to work
rolling a number of snowballs which were two feet or more in diameter.
These they placed close to the school building at a point where there was
a series of fire-escapes leading down from the upper halls of the
institution.
"We can let down the ladder just as soon as we're ready to turn the
trick," announced Randy. "I don't believe anybody will notice it, for it
will be dark and so cold that most everybody will be indoors."
"We've got to be on our guard to make certain that Codfish or Duke or
somebody else doesn't spot us," said Spouter Powell. "Of course it
wouldn't hurt if some of the regular fellows found us out, because they'd
keep it to themselves."
It must be confessed that the Rover boys were rather preoccupied in mind
during supper that evening. In fact, Andy grew so thoughtless that he
salted some eggs he was eating three times, so that when he finally came
to his senses the food had to be pushed aside. This happened just as
Professor Snopper Duke was passing, and the new teacher eyed the young
cadet suspiciously.
"What is the matter with that omelet, Rover?" he demanded, in his
high-pitched, nervous tone of voice.
"Nothing the matter with it, sir," answered Andy. "Only I somehow forgot
and salted it too much."
"Really!" returned Snopper Duke sarcastically. "Is that the way you waste
food?"
"No, sir. It was only a mistake," answered Andy meekly.
"You ought to be made to eat that omelet," continued the professor
severely. "Don't let such a thing happen again." And then, with his eyes
rolling around among the other cadets to see if anything else might be
wrong, he passed slowly down among the tables of the mess hall.
"Oh, isn't he a perfect little lamb!" murmured Randy. "So awfully
tender-hearted!"
"Somebody ought to wring his neck," grumbled his twin.
"Just the same, Andy, you'd better be careful how you handle the
salt-shaker after this," put in Jack.
After the meal the Rovers and their chums mingled with the other cadets
and informed two or three of what was in the wind, and as a consequence
there was quite some excitement noticeable when a little later the crowd,
with the exception of Randy, slipped out of the school building by a side
door. Randy ran upstairs, to appear presently on the lower landing of the
fire-escape. Here was suspended a heavy iron ladder in such a fashion
that it could be easily shoved out so that one end would drop to the
ground.
Soon the crowd of cadets appeared in the snow below him, and then, with a
warning to them to get out of the way, Randy let down the ladder and then
came down himself.
"All clear upstairs," he announced. "Not a soul in sight."
"One of us ought to stay on guard up there to give warning in case it's
necessary," announced Spouter.
"Well, suppose you go up," returned Jack.
"I'd just as soon help with the snowballs," returned Spouter. "But if you
want me to go I'll do so." And a moment later he disappeared up the
ladder and into the school building through a window which had been
thrown open.
The cadets on the ground found it no easy task to raise the big snowballs
up the ladder. They tried it first with nothing but their hands, but soon
found they could do much better by dumping a snowball into a big overcoat
and then hauling it up by the sleeves and the tail of the garment. They
worked as rapidly as possible, and soon had eight of the snowballs raised
to the platform of the fire-escape.
"How about it? Everything clear?" questioned Randy, as he came into the
corridor where Spouter was on guard.
"All clear so far," was the reply. "A few of the fellows are in their
rooms, but no one that we are going to bother."
"Then let's get those snowballs inside and distribute 'em."
In a few minutes the snowballs were gotten inside the building, and then
two were rolled and pushed over to the room occupied by Henry Stowell, a
cadet commonly called Codfish on account of the broadness of his mouth.
Luck was with them, for the door was unlocked, so that they had little
trouble in rolling the snowballs inside, where they were placed one on
either side of the single bed the cadet occupied.
After this the cadets rolled several of the balls to various other rooms,
one being placed in the tub of a bathroom.
"I've saved the biggest of the snowballs," whispered Randy. "That's the
one we must place in Professor Duke's room."
The professor's room was around in another corridor, and to get to this
the cadets had to roll the big snowball directly past the top of the
broad stairs leading to the hall below. They had the snowball in a
position right at the head of the stairs when Spouter, who was leaning
over the upper railing on guard, gave a sudden hiss of warning.
"Somebody coming!" he announced in a whisper. "And unless I'm mistaken,
it's Professor Duke!"
"Gosh! I hope he doesn't catch us," returned Gif Garrison. "Maybe we had
better run for it."
"Here he comes right for the stairs!" put in Jack, as he saw the familiar
form pass a light in the lower hall.
The cadets did not know just what to do, and while they paused to
consider, Professor Duke started up the long, straight stairs. He was
evidently in deep thought and did not look above him.
"Run, fellows! Run!" whispered Andy excitedly, and then, as the others
started away he attempted to follow. But the floor was wet from the
melting snow, and down he came flat on his back, both feet hitting the
big snowball squarely.
The movement was sufficient to send the snowball directly to the edge of
the top step. Here, as Andy scrambled to his feet, it hovered for a
moment, then began to slide down the stairs, gathering speed from step to
step.
"Hi! Hi! What is this?" those above heard Snopper Duke ejaculate. And the
next instant the teacher set up a yell of alarm as the big snowball hit
him in the stomach and hurled him to one side. Then the snowball passed
on down the stairs, slid across the lower hallway, and shot directly
through the open door leading to Colonel Colby's private office!
CHAPTER II
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
"Gee, we've done it now!"
"The snowball knocked Professor Duke over!"
"Hi! Stop that! What do you mean? Who did that?" came in smothered tones
from Snopper Duke, who now sat on one of the lower steps of the stairs,
holding both hands over the spot where the big snowball had struck him.
"Gosh! it struck him, all right," whispered Gif Garrison.
"Yes. And it went across the hallway into Colonel Colby's office!" gasped
Andy, who had scrambled to his feet and given a glance downward.
"Skip for it!" put in his twin brother quickly. "We mustn't be caught at
this."
The warning was not needed, for all of the cadets were already scrambling
through the corridor and away from the stairs as rapidly as possible.
They came to a halt in front of Room 18, that which Jack occupied.
"Skip inside and pretend to be reading or studying," said the oldest of
the Rover boys.
"I think we had better go to our own rooms," said Gif to Phil and
Spouter. "And remember, mum is the word," he added for the benefit of the
others.
"There'll be some fun sooner or later, believe me," remarked Fred. "Andy,
why did you push that snowball downstairs on top of old Duke?"
"I didn't do it on purpose. I slipped," was the answer. "But come before
they start to investigate." And then he slipped into Jack's room,
followed by his cousins.
And here let me pause for a moment to tell something about the Rover boys
and how it was that they came to be at Colby Hall. My old readers will
not need this introduction, and, therefore, I shall not feel hurt if they
skip my words on the subject.
In the first volume of this line, entitled "The Rover Boys at School," I
introduced three brothers, Dick, Tom, and Sam Rover, and told how they
were sent to Putnam Hall Military Academy where they made a number of
chums, including a cadet named Lawrence Colby.
Passing through Putnam Hall successfully, the three brothers next
attended Brill College, and then went into business in New York City,
where they organized The Rover Company, with offices on Wall Street.
During their school days the Rover brothers had fallen in with three very
nice girls, Dora Stanhope and her cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning. The
three young couples became married and settled down in connecting houses
on Riverside Drive, New York City.
About a year following their marriage Dick and his wife Dora became the
parents of a son, who was named John, and this son was followed by a
daughter Martha. The boy Jack, as he was usually called, was a sturdy
youth with many of the independent qualities which had made his father so
successful.
Shortly after the birth of Jack, Tom Rover and his wife Nellie came
forward with a great surprise in the form of a pair of lively twin boys,
one of whom was named Anderson and the other Randolph. Andy and Randy, as
they were invariably called, were exceedingly active lads, in that
particular being a second edition of their fun-loving father, Tom.
About the time Tom's twins came upon the scene, Sam Rover and his wife
Grace became the parents of a little girl, called Mary. Then, a year
later, the girl was followed by a boy who was christened Fred.
Residing side by side, the younger generation of Rover boys, as well as
their sisters, were brought up very much as one large family. At first
they were sent to private schools in the Metropolis, but the boys, led by
Andy and Randy, showed such an aptitude for fun and horseplay that their
parents were compelled to hold a consultation.
"We'll have to send those kids to some strict boarding school--some
military academy," said Dick Rover.
"I guess that's right," his brother Tom had answered. "Although how my
wife is going to get along without having the twins around is more than I
know."
At that time Lawrence Colby, the Rovers' former Putnam Hall chum, was at
the head of a military academy called Colby Hall. To this institution
Jack, Fred, and the twins were sent. And what they did upon their arrival
there is told in detail in the first volume of my second series, entitled
"The Rover Boys at Colby Hall."
The military school was located about half a mile from the town of Haven
Point on Clearwater Lake. At the head of the lake was the Rick Rack
River, running down from the hills and forests beyond. The school
consisted of a large stone building facing the river, and close by was a
smaller building occupied by Colonel Colby and his family and some of the
professors, and at a short distance were a gymnasium, a boathouse, and
likewise bathing pavilions.
On arriving at Colby Hall the younger Rovers found several of their
friends awaiting them, including Dick Powell, usually called Spouter
because of his occasional desire to make long speeches, and Gifford
Garrison. Spouter and Gif were the sons of Songbird Powell and Fred
Garrison, men who in their boyhood days had been close chums of the older
Rovers while at Putnam Hall. The Rovers made a number of other friends,
and, likewise, a few enemies, many of whom will be heard of later.
As mentioned, Colby Hall was located about half a mile beyond Haven
Point, and on the opposite side of the town was Clearwater Hall, a
boarding school for girls. During a panic in a motion picture house the
Rover boys became acquainted with several girls from Clearwater Hall,
including Ruth Stevenson, May Powell, Alice Strobell, and Annie Larkins.
They discovered 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, and one day, while out hunting,
the Rover boys did the old man a great service. For this he invited them
to spend some winter holidays with him, which they did, as related in
another volume, called "The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island."
On this island the boys met two of their former enemies, Nappy Martell
and Slugger Brown, as well as Asa Lemm, a discharged teacher of Colby
Hall. The Rovers exposed a plot against old Uncle Barney and caused the
hunter's enemies to leave Snowshoe Island in disgust.
Some of the boys hoped they had seen the last of Nappy and Slugger, but
Jack was doubtful; and how those two unworthies turned up again to cause
more trouble is related in the book entitled "The Rover Boys Under
Canvas."
This was at the time of the annual encampment, and at an election of
officers Jack was made captain of Company C and Fred made first
lieutenant.
While the Rover boys were at Colby Hall the great war in Europe opened.
When the call for army volunteers came Dick Rover and his brother Sam
lost no time in enlisting, and as soon as he could get away Tom Rover
followed; and the three fathers of the boys went into the trenches in
Europe to do their duty for Uncle Sam.
During the following winter at Colby Hall Gif Garrison received a letter
from an uncle, stating that he and his chums might use a bungalow up in
the woods. Gif at once invited the Rover boys and Spouter to become his
guests, and what a glorious time the lads had is related in a volume
entitled "The Rover Boys on a Hunt."
The return of the older Rovers from Europe at the conclusion of the great
war in which they had served gallantly brought something of a surprise.
Dick Rover had saved the life of a man from Texas, and in return had been
given the deed to some property located between Texas and Oklahoma and
said to be in a region containing oil. He decided to go to Texas and
Oklahoma to investigate, and the four boys begged to go along. How they
went to the oil fields and what stirring adventures they had there are
related in detail in the volume preceding this, called "The Rover Boys in
the Land of Luck."
Here they fell in again with Nappy Martell, Slugger Brown, and another
good-for-nothing lad named Gabe Werner, and also with a man named Carson
Davenport, who did his best to do Dick Rover great harm. Davenport and
some of his cohorts were finally placed under arrest. As a result of this
Gabe Werner's father took hold of some wells that were being sunk by the
Davenport crowd. But in the end he and the Martells and the Browns lost a
great deal of their money, so that they were left almost penniless.
"It's a terrible blow for those three families," said Dick Rover, when
this occurred. "It will make Mr. Werner quite a poor man."
"Well, I don't particularly wish them any hard luck," remarked Andy.
"Just the same, I guess Nappy, Slugger, and Gabe got what was coming to
them."
Before going down to Texas and Oklahoma the Rover boys, while along the
Rick Rack River during a violent storm, had succeeded in rescuing a man
and his son who were caught between some rocks and a drifting tree in the
middle of the swiftly flowing stream.
The man, John Franklin, was exceedingly thankful for what had been done
for him, and so was his son Philip. It developed later that the Franklins
owned a tract of land in Texas. And when it was discovered that the tract
inherited by Dick Rover from the soldier in France was practically
worthless, Jack's father made an arrangement to work the Franklin place
on shares. Two oil wells were bored, and both of these paid handsomely,
making the Rovers richer than ever and also placing a substantial amount
in the bank to John Franklin's account.
"Do you know I can scarcely believe it's true," Phil Franklin had said to
the Rover boys. "Why, my father will have more money than he ever dreamed
of."
"We're as glad as you are, Phil," Jack had answered. "Glad on your
account as well as our own. Now maybe you can go to Colby Hall with us."
"Say, that would be immense!" Phil had returned with pleasure. And that
fall he had joined the crowd at the military academy and soon made for
himself a host of friends.
"Gee, I never thought going to school could be so nice," declared Phil
Franklin to the Rover boys one day. "I always considered going to school
a hardship. But this is bang-up in every way."
"I guess you haven't made any enemies yet, Phil," remarked Fred. "Don't
forget that Nappy Martell, Slugger Brown, and Gabe Werner all hailed from
here."
"I've met only one fellow that I don't like," returned Phil Franklin.
"That's a fellow who came in the day I did, a big, tall, lanky chap named
Lester Bangs."
"Oh, you mean Brassy Bangs," broke in Randy. "I know that fellow only too
well. I had quite a set-to with him one day in the gym."
"For a new cadet he's certainly pretty forward," answered Jack. "I'm glad
he isn't a member of my company. If he was I think I'd have to call him
down more than once."
"I guess Colby Hall is bound to have its bullies," Andy had remarked on
hearing this. "No sooner do we get rid of one group than another appears.
They seem to grow like weeds."
During the fall there had been the usual football season at the military
academy, and the boys had acquitted themselves quite creditably, winning
seven games out of twelve. Then had come the brief Christmas holidays.
And following this the lads had settled down once more into the grind,
resolved to do their best at their lessons. But, of course, they were
only boys, and they had to have their fun, and occasionally the fun went
a little too far and brought forth rather disastrous results, as we have
just seen.
CHAPTER III
WHAT THE SNEAK TOLD
"I certainly didn't think that snowball would go down the stairs so
easily," remarked Andy, when he and the other Rovers were alone.
"Keep quiet," warned Jack, who had remained at the partly-opened door. "I
want to hear what takes place."
"This is outrageous, simply outrageous!" they heard in Snopper Duke's
high-pitched voice. "How dared you roll such a snowball down these
stairs? And how came you to get that snowball up there anyway?"
"Excuse me, Professor, but I don't know what you're talking about,"
answered another voice; and at this Jack gave a slight start, for he
recognized the words as coming from Brassy Bangs.
"What is that? You do not know anything about the big snowball that just
came hurtling down these stairs?" stormed Professor Duke.
"No, sir. I just reached the top of the stairs," answered Brassy Bangs.
"I came out of my room not ten seconds ago."
"What do you know about this, Stowell?" went on the professor, who had
now come slowly to the top of the stairs, followed by Professor Grawson,
who had come out of Colonel Colby's private office where he had been
looking over some reports when the big snowball had landed with a thump
against the desk at which he had been seated.
"Me? What do you mean?" stammered the youth who was known to the cadets
as Codfish and who had always been more or less of a sneak.
"Somebody just rolled a big snowball down the stairs. It struck me and
nearly knocked me flat," returned the irate teacher.
"Yes, and it rolled all the way into the private office," added Professor
Grawson.
"I don't know anything about any snowballs," said Codfish. "I noticed the
floor was all wet and I wondered what it meant."
"I saw some fellows rushing around the corner," came from Brassy Bangs.
"Who were they?" demanded Snopper Duke.
"I don't know."
"Which way did they go?"
"That way," and Brassy pointed out the direction.
By this time the two professors had reached the top of the stairs and
Grawson was looking at the water marks on the polished floor.
"Here is where they brought that big snowball in," he remarked, pointing
to the track that led to one of the windows. "They must have brought it
up on the fire-escape."
"Here are several other tracks. I think we had better follow them,"
returned Snopper Duke quickly.
The track leading to the bathroom was most in evidence, and the two
professors quickly discovered the big snowball resting in the bathtub.
"Evidently they put this here to have some more fun with," announced
Professor Grawson grimly. "Well, it won't do much harm here. I'll turn on
a little hot water and it will soon melt and run off," and he turned on
the faucet as he spoke.
From the bathroom the two professors, followed by Codfish and Brassy,
followed the water trail into a room occupied by several students who
were particularly uppish and whom the Rovers did not like, and here some
more of the snowballs were found.
"Here is another trail," announced Professor Duke, and in a moment more
had thrown open the door leading to Stowell's bedroom.
"Here! what does this mean?" stammered Codfish, as, after the light had
been turned on, he and the others saw the two big snowballs resting on
either side of the bed.
"Stowell, you must have had something to do with this," cried Snopper
Duke savagely.
"No, sir. Not at all, sir," answered the sneak in a trembling voice. "I
don't know a thing about it."
"Where did you come from just now?"
"I--I came up the back stairs. I was just coming through the corridor
when I heard the noise and came to see what it meant."
"The back stairs, eh?" put in Professor Grawson. "What were you doing on
the back stairs this time in the evening?"
"I--I was down in the kitchen." And now Codfish grew pale.
"And what called you to the kitchen?"
"I--I was hungry, and so I asked one of the servants for something to
eat." And now Codfish was fairly whining.
"Humph! didn't you have any supper?"
"Yes, sir. But I wasn't feeling extra well just then and I didn't eat
very much, and that made me hungry afterwards. And, oh, say! I guess I
can tell you something about those snowballs," and Codfish's face lit up
suddenly.
"What do you know?"
"When I was passing through the little entryway that leads into the
kitchen I happened to glance out of the window and I saw four or five
fellows down at the foot of the fire-escape."
"What were they doing?"
"When I looked at them they were just talking among themselves. I only
looked for a moment because I was in a hurry to get to the kitchen and
get back again."
"Did you recognize any of the cadets?"
At this direct question, Codfish hesitated and showed that he felt far
from comfortable.
"I don't like to tell on anybody," he whined. "If I do that they'll be
sure to lick me later on--I know they will!"
"You tell me who they were and I'll see to it that they do not harm you,"
put in Professor Duke quickly.
"I only saw two of the fellows real plainly," answered Stowell. "They
were standing in the light from one of the windows."
"And who were they? Tell me! I want no nonsense now," and Snopper Duke
caught the sneak firmly by the shoulder.
"Ouch! Please don't hurt me!" cried Codfish, in added alarm.
"Then answer me!"
"The two fellows I recognized were Captain Jack Rover and his cousin,
Lieutenant Fred Rover."
"You didn't know the others?" put in Professor Grawson.
"No, sir. I didn't see them well enough. They were all in the shadows."
"I'll investigate this," cried Professor Duke. "Stowell, you come with
me."
"Oh, please don't make me come!" cried the sneak. "They'll almost kill me
if they find I gave them away!"
"They sha'n't touch you."
"Oh, I know what they'll do," moaned Codfish. He had not forgotten how
the Rover boys had sided with him on more than one perilous occasion, and
it scared him half to death to think what they might do when they
discovered how meanly he was acting.
But there was no help for it, and Codfish was marched along between the
two professors, with Brassy and a number of other cadets, who had been
attracted by the noise and the talk, following.
Meanwhile the four Rover boys had listened to as much of the conversation
as they could catch.
"They went into Codfish's room--they are following the trail of the water
on the floor," announced Jack.
"Some of the other fellows are coming out and coming upstairs," announced
Fred. "Let us go out too and see what happens."
"Maybe they'll accuse Codfish of this," remarked Randy, with a grin.
The four Rovers had just come out in the corridor and been joined by Gif,
Phil, and Spouter when they found themselves suddenly confronted by
Professor Duke, with Professor Grawson and poor Codfish directly behind
him.
"So this is your work, is it?" demanded Snopper Duke, glaring angrily at
Jack and Fred in turn.
"To what do you refer, Professor?" asked Jack, as calmly as he could.
"You know well enough, Captain Rover. It is useless for you to deny it,"
stormed the angry teacher. "You and your cousins here are responsible for
bringing those big snowballs into the school."
"Who says so?" questioned Fred. At the same time he gave Codfish a look
that made the sneak want to hide himself.
"Never mind who says so. We know it to be a fact," stormed Snopper Duke.
"Will you kindly let me know what you mean by such outrageous conduct?"
"Is it so very outrageous, Professor, to bring a few snowballs into the
school?" questioned Randy innocently.
"We've often brought snow into the school," put in Andy. "We used to use
it for making a sort of home-made ice-cream--with milk and sugar and a
little flavoring, you know."
"Colonel Colby or Captain Dale never ordered us to leave the snow
outdoors," added Fred, and at this there was a snicker from among a
number of the cadets who were gathered.
"I will not listen to such nonsense," stormed Snopper Duke. "You four
brought those snowballs into this school, and some of you kicked that
snowball down the stairs on top of me," he added, glaring at them.
"I want to say right now, Professor Duke, that that big snowball went
downstairs by accident," answered Andy, feeling that there was no help
for it and that he must make a clean breast of the matter. "We were
rolling it down the corridor when all at once I slipped in a puddle of
water and both my feet struck the snowball and sent it on its way down
the stairs. But we didn't mean to send it down; I can give you my word on
that."
"I don't believe it," stormed Snopper Duke.
"I'm telling you the truth, sir."
"Perhaps Rover didn't mean to send the snowball downstairs," put in
Professor Grawson mildly. As a general thing he sided with the cadets and
they had little difficulty in getting along with him.
"Mr. Grawson, I was the one to suffer through this outrageous trick,"
fumed Snopper Duke. "And you will kindly permit me to handle the affair.
These four cadets are guilty and must be punished."
"I agree it is more your affair than mine, Mr. Duke," returned the other
teacher. "But don't you think it would be wise to let the matter rest
until Colonel Colby comes back from the city?"
"Not at all! Not at all! These young rascals must be taken in hand, and
at once. Otherwise our authority in this institution will go to pieces."
At this moment there was a movement among the students who had collected
in the corridor, and Gif and Spouter stepped forward.
"Excuse me, Professor Duke," said Gif. "But I had as much to do with
bringing those snowballs upstairs as anybody."
"And so did I," added Spouter.
"And I was in on the deal, too," came from Phil Franklin, as he too
stepped forward.
"What? All of you?" demanded Snopper Duke, eyeing them coldly.
"I can assure you we meant no great harm," continued Spouter. "We were
only going to have a little fun among ourselves and with our
fellow-cadets--that is, mostly," he added somewhat lamely, as he
remembered what had been said about placing some of the snowballs in the
teacher's room.
"Were any others implicated in this despicable piece of business?"
demanded Professor Duke, looking around at the assembled cadets. "Answer
me at once!"
There was no reply to this, the cadets simply looking at each other
questioningly.
"We're all here, sir," said Jack. "There were no others." And he and his
cousins gave their chums a warm look to show they appreciated their
coming forward to take a share of the blame.
"Seven of you, eh?" was the teacher's sour comment. "A fine piece of
business, truly." He thought for a moment. "Come with me, all of you, and
we'll see what damage has been done down in the office."
The assembled cadets made a passageway, and through this filed the Rovers
and their chums with Professor Duke following close on their heels.
Professor Grawson remained behind to talk to Stowell.
"They'll kill me for this--I know they will!" whined Codfish. And now he
was on the verge of tears.
"I don't think the Rovers will touch you, Stowell--I don't think they're
that class of boys," answered Professor Grawson. "Come. I'll go to your
room with you and help you throw those snowballs out of the window." He
had not forgotten that he had been a schoolboy himself once, and he had
small sympathy for such a sneak as Henry Stowell.
Down in Colonel Colby's private office it was found that the big snowball
had done little damage outside of wetting a couple of the rugs. What was
left of the snowball had been gathered up by Pud Hicks, the janitor's
assistant, and now he was mopping up the floor.
"I'll take the rugs and dry 'em in the laundry," said Hicks. "I think
they'll be all right by morning."
"You cadets remain here until I return," said Professor Duke, when Hicks
was ready to depart. And then he went outside and in the hallway held a
whispered conversation with the janitor's assistant.
"I guess we're in for it," said Jack to his cousins and his chums.
"What do you suppose they'll do with us?" questioned Phil.
"I'm sure I don't know."
In a few minutes Snopper Duke returned, and there was a grin of
satisfaction in his eyes as he faced the cadets.
"You will all follow me," he declared, "and I'll show you what can be
done in this school to cadets who act as outrageously as you have acted.
Come! March!" and he led the way out of the private office.
CHAPTER IV
PRISONERS
In one of the wings of the school building there was located a room about
twelve feet square with one window which was barred, and this, as my old
readers know, was known officially as the school guardroom or prison.
Jack and Fred had once been prisoners in this guardroom on a charge that
was afterwards proved to be false.
"Gee! I wonder if he's going to take us to the guardroom?" whispered the
youngest of the Rovers.
"I don't see how he can crowd seven of us into that small room," answered
Randy. "Why, it's only got one cot in it!"
Professor Duke led the way through the corridor and up the broad stairs.
In the meanwhile Professor Grawson had ordered the other cadets to their
rooms, so there was no one at hand to witness what was taking place.
Arriving on the second floor, Snopper Duke led the way into another
corridor and then up a somewhat narrow stairway leading to the third
floor.
"Hello! I wonder where he's going to take us now?" questioned Fred in
wonder.
"This is certainly a new wrinkle," declared Gif.
The third floor was but dimly lit until the professor turned on more
light. Then he turned into a little side corridor at the end of which was
located a long, narrow room which, during the previous year, had been
used by some of the hired help but which was now unoccupied.
"You will remain in this room until I have a chance to communicate with
Colonel Colby," said Professor Duke, as he marched the cadets in. "And
remember! I want no cutting up here. I want you to remain perfectly
quiet."
"How long shall we have to stay here?" questioned Jack.
"That will depend on what Colonel Colby has to say about it," was the
sharp answer.
"Do you expect us to stay here all night?" demanded Randy.
"You will have to stay here unless Colonel Colby gets back from the city,
and I think that hardly likely to-night," answered the teacher. "Now
remember! No noise and no horseplay or I'll do something that you won't
forget in a hurry," and with this admonition he walked out of the room,
closing and locking the door after him.
"Listen!" cried Fred, as all of the others started to talk at once. And
going to the door, he listened intently, and so did the others, and they
heard Snopper Duke pass through the little corridor and down the stairs.
"He's gone, all right enough," remarked Phil Franklin.
"Well, what do you know about this, anyhow!" cried Gif.
"I think he's treating us like a lot of children," declared Andy
angrily.
"I don't believe he has any right to keep us out of our regular rooms,"
came from his brother.
"Well, anyway, he took the right," answered Jack grimly. "And what is
more, he seems to have the best of us."
"He won't have if we break down that door."
"I don't think you'll have an easy job of it breaking down that door,"
put in Spouter. "I happened to notice that there was not only a regular
lock on it, but also a top bolt. You'd have to smash the whole door to
get out. But it certainly is a despicable piece of business," Spouter
continued. "And at the first opportunity we have we'll have to lay the
whole case before Colonel Colby. I'm sure when he has verified our
report, and gone into the various merits of the case, he will make a
finding that will be in accordance with----"
"Gee! Spouter can spout even if he is a prisoner," burst out Randy.
"Better get up on a chair, Spouter, and make a regular speech about it,"
he continued, grinning.
"This is a new experience for me," remarked Phil, with a smile. "I never
thought I was going to be put in jail."
"You can hardly call it being put in jail, Phil," answered Jack. "In a
military academy it is quite common for a cadet, when he has broken the
rules and regulations, to be placed in the guardhouse, just the same as
he is placed in the guardhouse in the regular army."
"I thought maybe they'd make us do what they call police duty," said the
boy from Texas. "One fellow told me that while he was in the training
camp he overstepped the regulations and they made him peel potatoes until
he was sick and tired of seeing them."
"Well, they do that too," put in Fred. "You might have to do something
like that if we were at the annual encampment. But while the school
session is on all they do is to lock you up."
The boys found that the long narrow room contained two double beds and
two cots, as well as a couple of bureaus, several stools, and a table. At
one end was a small bathroom and a clothing closet. There were three
small windows in a row, all looking out on the snow-covered fields behind
the school.
"Well, we've got a place to sleep, anyhow," announced Jack. "Although
three of us will have to sleep in one of the beds."
"Not much in the way of covering," remarked Gif, who had been making an
investigation. "Just one thin blanket on each bed. And that radiator is
not letting out heat enough to warm a cat," he added, as he placed his
hand on the one small radiator of which the long bedroom boasted.
"Never mind, we can keep on our uniforms if we want to," declared Randy.
"And who knows but what Colonel Colby may come back at any minute, and
then I'm almost certain that he'll let us go back to our own rooms."
"He will unless old Duke cooks up some dreadful story against us," came
from his brother. "You can bet he'll make out as black a case against us
as he can."
"Yes. But I think Professor Grawson will have something to say too," said
Jack. "And he has always been a very fair-minded man."
"I don't see why Colonel Colby took on such a man as Snopper Duke,"
declared Spouter. "He's every bit as bad as Asa Lemm was."
"But you've got to hand it to him for being a very well educated man,"
said Jack. "And he certainly knows how to teach when he's in the humor
for it."
"I don't think a man who is as harsh-minded as he is ought to be a
teacher," was Gif's comment. "He can't get a cadet to do his best if he's
forever nagging at him. Now, if I was a teacher, I'd do my best to gain
my pupils' confidence."
There was a pause, and presently Andy began to chuckle.
"Say, he certainly did look funny when that big snowball hit him in the
stomach and nearly knocked him over," he cried.
"How could you see that when you were on your back?" questioned Fred.
"Oh, I managed to flop over and look down the stairs just in time. He was
some sight, believe me. It's a wonder he didn't go over backward to the
floor below. I don't know what saved him. He must have grabbed the
banisters just in time."
"You can't really blame him for being mad. I think maybe I'd be mad
myself," said Gif. "However, let's drop that. What are we going to do? Go
to bed?"
"I don't see that there is anything else to do," answered Jack.
"I've got to do something to keep warm," declared Andy, and suddenly
turned a somersault over one of the beds. Then he began to box with his
brother, and the two spun around from one end of the room to the other.
"Here! you stop that," warned Fred. "You know what Duke said. You keep on
and he'll put us down in the cellar or some other worse place."
After this the seven cadets became more quiet, and, sitting as close as
possible to the little radiator which gave forth only a mite of warmth,
they discussed the situation for half an hour longer.
"That's another one against Codfish," declared Randy. "I'm sure he's
guilty."
"Well, he had some reason for saying what he did," said Jack. "He had to
clear his own skirts after they found those two big snowballs in his
room."
"Just the same, Jack, you know well enough hardly any other fellow in the
school would have squealed," cried Randy. "Codfish always was a sneak,
and I guess he always will be, no matter what some of the other fellows
do for him."
