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                       The Rover Boys In Business

 or

 The Search for the Missing Bonds

by Arthur M. Winfield, 1915

 (Edward Stratemeyer)


INTRODUCTION

My Dear Boys: This book is a complete story in itself, but forms the
nineteenth volume in a line issued under the general title of "The
Rover Boys Series for Young Americans."

As I have mentioned in several other volumes, this series was started
a number of years ago with the publication of "The Rover Boys at
School," "On the Ocean," and "In the Jungle." I am happy to say the
books were so well liked that they were followed, year after year, by
the publication of "The Rover Boys Out West," "On the Great Lakes,"
"In Camp," "On Land and Sea," "On the River," "On the Plains," "In
Southern Waters," "On the Farm," "On Treasure Isle," "At College,"
"Down East," "In the Air," "In New York," and finally "In Alaska,"
where we last met the lads.

During all these adventures the Rover boys have been growing older.
Dick is now married and conducting his father's business in New York
City and elsewhere. 'The fun-loving Tom and his sturdy younger
brother, Sam, are at Brill College. The particulars are given of a
great baseball game; and then Tom and Sam return home, to he startled
by a most unusual message from Dick, calling them to New York
immediately. Some bonds of great value have mysteriously disappeared,
and unless these are recovered the Rover fortune may be seriously
impaired. What the boys did under these circumstances, I will leave
the pages which follow to disclose.

Once more thanking my host of young readers for the interest they have
taken in my books, I remain,

                 Affectionately and sincerely yours,

                                                   Arthur M. Winfield.
  _________________________________________________________________

  CHAPTER I

 AT THE RIVER

"Sam!"

No answer.

"I say, Sam, can't you listen for just a moment?"

"Oh, Tom, please don't bother me now!" and Sam Rover, with a look of
worry on his face, glanced up for a moment from his writing-table.
"I've got to finish this theme before to-morrow morning."

"Oh, I know! But listen!" And Tom Rover's face showed his earnestness.
"Last night it was full moonlight, and to-night it is going to be
equally clear. Why can't we get out the auto and pay a visit to Hope?
You know we promised the girls that we would be up some afternoon or
evening this week."

"Sounds good, Tom, but even if we went after, supper, could we get
there in time? You know all visitors have to leave before nine
o'clock."

"We can get there if we start as soon as we finish eating. Can't you
finish the theme after we get back? Maybe I can help you."

"Help me? On this theme!" Sam grinned broadly. "Tom, you don't know
what you are talking about. Do you know what this theme is on?"

"No, but I can help you if I have to."

"This is on 'The Theory Concerning the Evolution of----'"

"That's enough, Sam; don't give me any of it now. Time enough for that
when we have to get at it. There goes the supper bell. Now, downstairs
with you! and let us get through as soon as possible and be on our
way."

"All right, just as you say!" and gathering up a number of sheets of
paper, Sam thrust them in the drawer of the writing-table.

"By the way, it's queer we didn't get any letter to-day from Dick,"
the youngest Rover observed.

At the mention of their brother's name, Tom's face clouded a little.

"It is queer, Sam, and I must say I don't like it. I think this is a
case where no news is bad news. I think if everything was going along
all right in New York, Dick would surely let us know. I am afraid he
is having a good deal of trouble in straightening out Dad's business."

"Just the way I look at it," responded Sam, as the brothers prepared
to leave the room.

"One thing is sure, Pelter, Japson & Company certainly did all they
could to mix matters up, and I doubt very much if they gave Dad all
that was coming to him."

"I believe I made a mistake in coming back to college," pursued Tom,
as the two boys walked out into the corridor, where they met several
other students on the way to the dining hall. "I think I ought to have
given up college and gone to New York City to help Dick straighten out
that business tangle. Now that Dad is sick again, the whole
responsibility rests on Dick's shoulders, and he ought not to be made
to bear it alone."

"Well, if you feel that way, Tom, why don't you break away and go? I
think, perhaps, it would be not only a good thing for Dick, but it
would, also, be a good thing for you," and, for the moment, Sam looked
very seriously at his brother.

Tom reddened a bit, and then put his forefinger to his forehead. "You
mean it would help me here?" And then, as Sam nodded, he added: "Oh,
don't you worry. I am all right now, my head doesn't bother me a bit.
But I do wish I could get just one good chance at Pelter for the crack
that rascal gave me on the head with the footstool."

"It certainly was a shame to let him off, Tom, hut you know how father
felt about it. He was too sick to be worried by a trial at law and all
that."

"Yes, I know, but just the same, some day I am going to square
accounts with Mr. Jesse Pelter," and Tom shook his head determinedly.

Passing down the broad stairway of Brill College, the two Rover boys
made their way to the dining hall. Here the majority of the students
were rapidly assembling for the evening meal, and the lads found
themselves among a host of friends.

"Hello, Songbird! How are you this evening?" cried Tom, as he
addressed a tall, scholarly-looking individual who wore his hair
rather long. "Have you been writing any poetry to-day?"

"Well,-- er-- not exactly, Tom," muttered John Powell, otherwise known
as Songbird because of his numerous efforts to compose what he called
poetry. "But I have been thinking up a few rhymes."

"When are you going to get out that book of poetry?"

"What book is that, Tom?"

"Why, as if you didn't know! Didn't you tell me that you were going to
get up a volume of 'Original International Poems for the Grave and
Gay;' five hundred pages, fully illustrated; and bound in full
leather, with title in gold, and "Tom, Tom, now please stop your
fooling!" pleaded Songbird, his face flushing. "Just because I write a
poem now and then doesn't say that I am going to publish a book."

"No, but I'm sure you will some day, and you'll make a fortune out of
it-- or fifteen dollars, anyway."

"The same old Tom!" cried a merry voice, and another student clapped
the fun-loving Rover on the shoulder. "I do believe you would rather
joke than eat!"

"Not on your life, Spud! and I'll prove it to you right now!" and
linking his arm through that of Will Jackson, otherwise "Spud," Tom
led the way to one of the tables, with Sam and several of the other
students following.

"What is on the docket for to-night?" asked Songbird, as he fell to
eating.

"Tom and I are going to take a little run in the auto to Hope,"
answered Sam.

"Oh, I see!" Songbird Powell shut one eye knowingly. "Going up there
to see the teachers, I suppose!"

"Sure, that is what they always do!" came from Spud, with a wink.

"Sour grapes, Spud!" laughed Sam. "You would go there yourself if you
had half a chance."

"Yes, and Songbird would want to go along, too, if we were bound for
the Sanderson cottage," put in Tom. "You see, in Songbird's eyes,
Minnie Sanderson is just the nicest girl----"

"Now stop it, Tom, can't you!" pleaded poor Songbird, growing
decidedly red in the face. "Miss Sanderson is only a friend of mine,
and you know it."

Just at that moment the students at the table were interrupted by the
approach of a tall, dudish-looking individual, who wore a
reddish-brown suit, cut in the most up-to-date fashion, and who
sported patent-leather shoes, and a white carnation in his buttonhole.
The newcomer took a vacant chair, sitting down with a flourish.

"I've had a most delightful ramble, don't you know," he lisped,
looking around at the others. "I have been through the sylvan woods
and by the babbling brook, and have----"

"Great Caesar's tombstone!" exclaimed Tom, looking at the newcomer
critically. "Why, my dearly beloved William Philander, you don't mean
to say that you have been delving through the shadowy nooks, and
playing with the babbling brook, in that outfit?"

"Oh, dear, no, Tom!" responded William Philander Tubbs. "I had another
suit on, the one with the green stripe, don't you know,-- the one I
had made last September-- or maybe it was in October, I can't really
remember. But you must know the suit, don't you?"

"Sure! I remember the suit. The green-striped one with the faded-out
blue dots and the red diamond check in the corner. Isn't that the same
suit you took down to the pawnbroker's last Wednesday night at fifteen
minutes past seven and asked him to loan you two dollars and a half on
it, and the pawnbroker wanted to know if the suit was your own?"

"My dear Tom!" and William Philander looked aghast. "You know well
enough I never took that suit to a pawnbroker."

"Well, maybe it was some other suit. Possibly the black one with the
blue stripes, or maybe it was the blue one with the black stripes.
Really, my dearest Philander, it is immaterial to me what suit it
was." And Tom looked coldly indifferent as he buttered another slice
of bread.

"But I tell you, I never went to any pawn-broker!" pleaded the dudish
student. "I would not be seen in any such horrid place!"

"Oh, pawnbrokers are not so bad," came from Spud Jackson, as he helped
himself to more potatoes. "I knew of one fellow down in New Haven who
used to loan thousands of dollars to the students at Yale. He was
considered a public benefactor. When he died they closed up the
college for three days and gave him a funeral over two miles long. And
after that, the students raised a fund of sixteen thousand dollars
with which to erect a monument to his memory. Now, that is absolutely
true, and if you don't believe it you can come to my room and I will
show you some dried rose leaves which came from one of the wreathes
used at the obsequies." And a general laugh went up over this
extravagant statement.

"The same old Spud!" cried Sam, as he gave the story-teller of the
college a nudge in the ribs. "Spud, you are about as bad as Tom."

"Chust vat I tinks," came from Max Spangler, a German-American student
who was still struggling with the difficulties of the language. "Only
I tinks bod of dem vas worser dan de udder." And at this rather mixed
statement another laugh went up.

"I wish you fellows would stop your nonsense and talk baseball," came
from Bob Grimes, another student. "Do you realize that if we expect to
do anything this spring, we have got to get busy?"

"Well, Bob," returned Sam, "I don't see how that is going to interest
me particularly. I don't expect to be on any nine this year."

"I know, Sam, but Tom, here, has promised to play if he can possibly
get the time."

"And so I will play," said Tom. "That is, provided I remain at Brill."

"What, do you mean to say you are going to leave!" cried several
students.

"We can't do without you, Tom," added Songbird.

"Of course we can't," came from Bob Grimes. "We need Tom the worst way
this year."

"Well, I'll talk that over with you fellows some other time. To-night
we are in a hurry." And thus speaking, Tom tapped his brother on the
shoulder, and both left the dining-room.

As my old readers know, the Rover boys possessed a very fine
automobile. This was kept in one of the new garages on the place,
which was presided over by Abner Filbury, the son of the old man who
had worked for years around the dormitories.

"Is she all ready, Ab?" questioned Tom, as the young man came forward
to greet them.

"Yes, sir, I filled her up with gas and oil, and she's in apple-pie
order."

"Why, Tom!" broke in Sam, in surprise. "You must have given this order
before supper."

"I did," and Tom grinned at his younger brother. "I took it for
granted that you would make the trip." And thus speaking, Tom leaped
into the driver's seat of the new touring car. Then Sam took his place
beside his brother, and in a moment more the car was gliding out of
the garage, and down the curving, gravel path leading to the highway
running from Ashton past Brill College to Hope Seminary.

As Tom had predicted, it was a clear night, with the full moon just
showing over the distant hills. Swinging into the highway, Tom
increased the speed and was soon running at twenty-five to thirty
miles an hour.

"Don't run too fast," cautioned Sam. "Remember this road has several
dangerous curves in it, and remember, too, a good many of the
countrymen around here don't carry lights when they drive."

"Oh, I'll be careful," returned Tom, lightly. "But about the lights, I
think some of the countrymen ought to be fined for driving in the
darkness as they do. I think----"

"Hark! what sort of a noise is that?" interrupted the younger Rover.

Both boys strained their ears. A shrill honk of a horn had been
followed by a heavy rumble, and now, around a curve of the road, shot
the beams from a single headlight perched on a heavy auto-truck. This
huge truck was coming along at great speed, and it passed the Rovers
with a loud roar, and a scattering of dust and small stones in all
directions.

"Great Scott!" gasped Sam, after he had recovered from his amazement.
"Did you ever see such an auto-truck as that, and running at such
speed?"

"Certainly some truck," was Tom's comment. "That must have weighed
four or five tons. I wonder if it came over the Paxton River bridge?"

"If it did, it must have given the bridge an awful shaking up. That
bridge isn't any too strong. It shakes fearfully every time we go over
it. Better run slow, Tom, when we get there."

"I will." And then Tom put on speed once more and the automobile
forged ahead as before.

A short run up-hill brought them to the point where the road ran down
to the Paxton River. In the bright moonlight the boys could see the
stream flowing like a sheet of silver down between the bushes and
trees. A minute more, and they came in sight of the bridge.

"Stop!" said Sam. "I may be mistaken, but that bridge looks shifted to
me."

"So it does," returned Tom, and brought the automobile to a
standstill. Both boys leaped out and walked forward.

To inspect the bridge in the bright moonlight was easy, and in less
than a minute the boys made a startling discovery, which was to the
effect that the opposite end of the structure had been thrown from its
supports and was in danger of falling at any instant.

"This is mighty bad," was Sam's comment. "Why, Tom, this is positively
dangerous. If anybody should come along here----"

"Hark!" Tom put up his hand, and both boys listened. From the top of
the hill they had left but a moment before, came the sounds of an
approaching automobile. An instant later the rays of the headlights
shot into view, almost blinding them.

"We must stop them!" came from both boys simultaneously. But scarcely
had the words left their lips, when they saw that such a course might
be impossible. The strange automobile was coming down the hill at a
furious rate. Now, as the driver saw the Rovers' machine, he sounded
his horn shrilly.

"He'll have a smash-up as sure as fate!" yelled Sam, and put up his
hand in warning. Tom did likewise, and also yelled at the top of his
lungs.

But it was too late. The occupant of the strange automobile-- for the
machine carried but a single person-- tried to come to a stop. The
brakes groaned and squeaked, and the car swept slightly to one side,
thus avoiding the Rovers' machine. Then, with power thrown off and the
hand-brake set, it rolled out on the bridge. There was a snap,
followed by a tremendous crash, and the next instant machine and
driver disappeared with a splash into the swiftly-flowing river.

  CHAPTER II

 TO THE RESCUE

The accident at the bridge had occurred so suddenly that, for the
instant, neither Rover boy knew what to do. They saw that the farther
end of the bridge had given way completely. Just where the end rested
in the water they beheld several small objects floating about, one of
them evidently a cap, and another a small wooden box. But the
automobile with its driver was nowhere to be seen.

"My gracious! That fellow will surely be drowned!" gasped Sam, on
recovering from the shock. "Tom, do you see him anywhere?"

"No, I don't." Tom took a few steps forward and gazed down into the
swiftly-flowing stream. "Perhaps he is pinned under the auto, Sam!"

"Wait, I'll get the searchlight," cried the younger Rover, and ran
back to their automobile. The boys made a point of carrying an
electric pocket searchlight to be used in case they had to make
repairs in the dark. Securing this, and turning on the light, Sam ran
forward to the river bank, with Tom beside him.

To those who have read the previous volumes in this "Rover Boys
Series" the lads just mentioned will need no special introduction. For
the benefit of others, however, let me state that the Rover boys were
three in number; Dick being the oldest, fun-loving Tom coming next,
and sturdy Sam being the youngest. When at home, which was only for a
short time each year, the boys lived with their father, Anderson
Rover, and their Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha on a farm called
Valley Brook, in New York State.

While their father was in Africa, the boys had been sent to Putnam
Hall Military Academy, as related in the first volume of this series,
entitled "The Rover Boys at School." There they had made quite a few
friends, and, also, some enemies.*

*For particulars regarding how Putnam Hall Military Academy was
organized, and what fine times the cadets there enjoyed even before
the Rovers appeared on the scene, read "The Putnam Hall Series," six
volumes, starting with "The Putnam Hall Cadets."-- Publishers

The first term at school was followed by an exciting trip on the
ocean, and then another trip into the jungles of Africa, where the
boys went looking for their parent. Then came a journey to the West,
and some grand times on the Great Lakes and in the Mountains. After
that, the Rover boys came back to the Hall to go into camp with their
fellow-cadets. Then they took a long journey over land and sea, being
cast away on a lonely island in the Pacific.

On returning home, the boys had imagined they were to settle down to a
quiet life, but such was not to be. On a houseboat the lads, with some
friends, sailed down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and then
found themselves on the Plains, where they solved the mystery of Red
Rock ranch. Then they set sail on Southern Waters, and in the Gulf of
Mexico discovered a deserted yacht.

"Now for a good rest," Sam had said, and the three lads had returned
to the home farm, where, quite unexpectedly, more adventures befell
them. Then they returned to Putnam Hall; and all graduated with
considerable honor.

It had been decided by Mr. Rover that the boys should next go to
college, and he selected an institution of learning located in the
Middle West, not far from the town of Ashton. Brill College was a fine
place, and the Rovers knew they would like it as soon as they saw it.
With them went their old-time school chum, Songbird Powell, already
mentioned. At the same time, William Philander Tubbs came to the
college from Putnam Hall. He was a dudish fellow, who thought far more
of dress than of gaining an education, and he was often made the butt
of some practical joke.

It did not take the Rover boys long to make a number of friends at
Brill. These included Stanley Browne, a tall, gentlemanly youth; Bob
Grimes, who was greatly interested in baseball and other sports; Max
Spangler, a German-American youth, who was everybody's friend; and
Will Jackson, always called "Spud" because of his unusual fondness for
potatoes. Spud was a great story-teller, and some of his yarns were
marvelous in the extreme.

During their first term at Putnam Hall, the Rover boys had become well
acquainted with Dora Stanhope, who lived near the school with her
widowed mother, and, also, Nellie and Grace Laning, Dora's two
cousins, who resided but a short distance further away. It had not
been long before Dick and Dora showed a great liking for each other,
and, at the same time, Tom often "paired off" with Nellie, and Sam as
often sought the company of Grace. Then came the time when the boys
did a great service for Mrs. Stanhope, saving her from the wicked
plotting of Josiah Crabtree, a teacher at Putnam Hall. Crabtree was
exposed, and lost no time in leaving the school, threatening at the
same time that, sooner or later, he would "square accounts with the
Rovers."

But a few miles away from Brill College was located Hope Seminary, an
institution for girls. When the Rover boys went to Brill, Dora, Nellie
and Grace entered Hope, so the young folks met almost as often as
before. A term at Brill was followed by an unexpected trip Down East,
where the Rover boys again brought the rascally Crabtree to terms.
Then the lads became the possessors of a biplane, and took several
thrilling trips through the air. About this time, Mr. Anderson Rover,
who was not in the best of health, was having much trouble with some
brokers, who were trying to swindle him out of valuable property. He
went to New York City, and disappeared, and his three sons went at
once on the hunt for him. The brokers were Pelter, Japson & Company,
and it was not long before Dick and his brothers discovered that
Pelter and Japson were in league with Josiah Crabtree. In the end the
boys found out what had become of their parent, and they managed to
bring the brokers to terms. But, during a struggle, poor Tom was hit
on the head by a wooden footstool thrown by Pelter, and knocked
unconscious. Josiah Crabtree tried to escape from a garret window by
means of a rope made of a blanket. This broke, and he sustained a
heavy fall, breaking a leg in two places. He was taken to a hospital,
and the doctors there said he would be a cripple for life.

"There is no use in talking, Dad," Dick had said to his father, "you
are not in a fit physical condition to take hold of these business
matters. You had better leave them entirely to me." And to this Mr.
Rover had agreed. Then, as Dick was to leave college and spend most of
his time in New York, it had been decided that he and Dora should get
married. There had followed one of the grandest weddings the village
of Cedarville had ever seen.

The blow on Tom's head proved more serious than was at first
anticipated. Through it the poor lad suddenly lost his mind, and while
in that state he wandered away from Brill College, and went on a long
journey, as related in detail in the volume preceding this, entitled
"The Rover Boys in Alaska."

As their father was too ill to take part in any search for the missing
one, Dick and Sam took up the hunt, and after many thrilling
adventures on the ice and in the snow, managed to locate their brother
and bring him back home.

"And now, Tom, you must take a good long rest," his kindly Aunt Martha
had said, and she had insisted upon it that he be put under the care
of a specialist. Tom had rested for several months, and then,
declaring that he felt as good as ever, had returned to Brill. Sam was
already in the grind, and soon Tom was doing his best to make up for
the time he had lost on his strange trip.

Of course, Nellie Laning had been very much worried over Tom's
condition, and his disappearance had caused her intense dismay. Since
he had returned to Brill, she had asked that he either call on her or
write to her at least once a week. Tom preferred a visit to
letter-writing, and as Sam was usually ready to go to Hope to see
Grace whenever the opportunity afforded, the brothers usually took the
trip together, as in the present instance.

Searchlight in hand, the Rover boys peered out over the surface of the
swiftly-flowing river, which at this point was about seventy-five feet
wide. The bridge was built in three sections, and it was the middle
span which had collapsed at the farther end, so that the automobile
had plunged into water which was at least eight feet deep.

"Do you see anything of him?" asked Sam, eagerly, as the rays from the
light flashed in one direction and then in another.

"If he managed to get out of the auto, perhaps he floated down with
the current," responded his brother. "Anyhow, he doesn't seem to be
around here."

"Maybe he was caught under the wheel. If so, we had better get him out
without delay."

"Look! Look!" And now Tom pointed. down the river. There in the
moonlight, both boys saw a form coming to the surface. The fellow was
beating the water wildly with his hands, and now he set up a frantic
cry for aid. Turning the searchlight in that direction, the Rover boys
left the vicinity of the broken bridge, and made their way down to
something of a footpath that ran along the water's edge. Tom was in
the lead. Here and there the bushes hung over the stream, and both
lads had to scramble along as best they could.

"Help! Help!" The cry came faintly, and then the two boys saw the
fellow in the water throw up both arms and sink from view.

"He has gone under!" gasped Sam. "Hurry up, Tom, or we'll be too
late!"

Scrambling wildly through the last of the bushes and onto some flat
rocks that, in this vicinity, ran out into the river, the Rover boys
soon gained a point which was less than four yards from where the
unfortunate youth had disappeared. Leading the way, Tom leaped from
one flat stone in the stream to another. Sam followed closely, holding
the searchlight on the spot where both hoped the fellow in the water
might reappear.

"Here he is!" cried Tom. And, as he spoke, Sam saw a dark object turn
over in the stream close to the rock on which his brother had leaped.
The next instant Tom was down on his knees and feeling through the
water.

"Hold my hand, Sam," said the older Rover. And as Sam took his left
hand, Tom clutched with his right the coat of the party in the river.
Then came a hard pull; and a moment later Tom had the dripping form on
the rock.

"Is he-- he-- dead?" questioned Sam, hoarsely.

"I don't think so, but he certainly has had a close call. We must get
him ashore and work over him as soon as possible. You light the way; I
think I can carry him alone."

The fellow who had been hauled out of the river was a slightly-built
youth, not over twenty years of age. As Tom was both big and muscular,
it was an easy matter for him to throw the stranger over his shoulder.
Sam led the way to the shore, keeping the light down on the rocks so
that his brother might be sure of his footing.

Once safe, the boys placed the stranger on the grass and started to
work over him. He was unconscious, and had evidently swallowed
considerable water. Fortunately, the lads had taken lessons in how to
resuscitate a person who had been close to drowning, so they knew
exactly what to do.

"It's a mighty lucky thing that we were here to aid him," remarked
Sam, as he and Tom proceeded with their efforts. "Another minute, and
it would have been all up with this poor fellow."

"Well, he isn't out of the woods yet, Sam, but I think he is coming
around." And even as Tom spoke the stranger gave a gasp and a groan,
and tried to sit up.

"It's all right, my friend," cried Sam, reassuringly. "We've got you,
you are safe."

"Oh, oh!" moaned the young man who had been so close to drowning. And
then as he sat up and stared at the brothers, he added: "Did-- did you
sa-- save me?"

"Well, we hauled you out of the river," replied Tom, simply.

"You did!" The young man shivered as he glanced at the swiftly-flowing
stream. "The bridge-- it was broken, but I didn't notice it in time."

"We tried to warn you," said Sam, "but you were coming too fast."

"I know it, but I-- I----" And then the young man, having tried to get
to his feet, suddenly collapsed and became unconscious again.

"Phew!" came from Sam in surprise. "He must be worse off than we
thought."

"Perhaps he got struck when he went down," suggested Tom. "See here,
there is blood on his hand; it is running down his sleeve!"

"Maybe his arm is broken, Tom. I guess the best thing we can do is to
get him to some doctor."

"Why not take him right down to Ashton to Doctor Havens?"

"Good idea; we'll do it."

Tom again took up the unconscious young man, and, with Sam leading the
way, both hurried to their automobile. The stranger was deposited on
the seat of the tonneau, and then Tom lost no time in turning the
machine around and heading for town.

"I wonder who he can be?" remarked Sam, as they sped along.

"I'm sure I don't know," was Tom's reply. Neither of the boys dreamed
of the surprise in store for them.

  CHAPTER III

 SOMETHING OF A SURPRISE

It did not take the Rover boys long to reach Ashton; and once in town,
they lost no time in running their auto to where Doctor Havens
resided. They found the house well lit up, and the old doctor in his
study, poring over some medical works.

"Saved a fellow from drowning, eh?" he queried, after the lads had
explained matters. "Got him out in your auto? All right, bring him
right in if you want to-- or wait, I'll go out and take a look at him.
Maybe I know who he is and where he belongs." And thus speaking, the
doctor went outside.

Sam still had the searchlight in hand, and as the physician approached
the automobile, the lad flashed the rays on the face of the stranger,
who was still unconscious.

"Why, I've seen that young chap before!" exclaimed Doctor Havens. "He
is stopping at the hotel. I saw him there only this afternoon."

"Then perhaps we had better take him over there," suggested Tom.

"By all means, and I'll go with you."

Running into the house, the doctor procured his hand case, and then
joined the boys in the automobile. A run of a few minutes brought the
party to the hotel, and Sam and Tom lifted the young man out and
carried him inside.

The arrival of the party created some consternation, but as only the
proprietor of the hotel and a bellboy were present, the matter was
kept rather quiet. The young man had a room on the second floor, and
to this he was speedily taken, and placed in the care of the doctor.

"No bones broken so far as I can ascertain," said Doctor Havens, after
a long examination. "He has cut his forehead, and he also has a bruise
behind his left ear, but I think he is suffering more from shock than
anything else."

"Did you say you knew him?" questioned Tom.

"Oh, no, only that I had seen him around this hotel."

"What is his name?" asked Sam, of the hotel proprietor, who had
followed them to the room.

"His name is Pelter."

"Pelter!" The cry came from Tom and Sam simultaneously, and the
brothers looked at each other questioningly.

"Yes, Pelter. Do you know him?"

"What is his first name?" demanded Tom.

"Why, let me see," The hotel man mused for a moment. "I have it!
Barton Pelter."

"I never heard that name before," said Tom. "We know a man in----" And
then, as Sam looked at him in a peculiar way, he added, "Oh, well,
never mind. We don't know this fellow, anyway. I hope he gets over
this trouble."

By this time the sufferer had again recovered consciousness, but he
was evidently very weak, and the doctor motioned for the Rover boys
and the hotel man to leave the room.

"All right, but let us know in the morning by telephone how he is,
Doctor," returned Tom; and then the Rover boys and the hotel man went
below.

"Can you tell us anything about this Barton Pelter?" questioned Sam,
of the proprietor.

"I know very little about him, excepting that he is registered as from
Brooklyn, and that he came here three days ago. What his business is
in Ashton, I haven't the least idea."

"Is he well off-- that is, does he appear to have much money?" asked
Tom.

"Oh, he hasn't shown any great amount of cash around here," laughed
the hotel man. "My idea is that he is some sort of a commercial
traveler, although he hasn't anything with him but his suitcase."

This was all the hotel man could tell them, and a few minutes later
the Rover boys were in their automobile once more and headed back for
the scene of the accident.

"We ought to have put up some danger signal, Tom," remarked Sam, while
on the way.

"I know it, but we hadn't any time to waste while we had that poor
chap on our hands. By the way, do you think he can be any relative of
Jesse Pelter, the rascal who knocked me out with the footstool, and
who tried his best to rob dad?"

"I'm sure I don't know. One thing is certain: The name of Pelter is
not common. Still, there may be other Pelters besides those related to
that scoundrel of a broker."

Arriving at the vicinity of the broken bridge, the boys found a farmer
with a wagon there. The countryman was placing some brushwood across
the road.

"The blame bridge is busted down," said the farmer, "and I thought I
ought to put up some kind of a thing to warn folks of it."

"That is what we came for," answered Sam; and then he and his brother
related some of the particulars of what had occurred.

"Gee, shoo! You don't mean to tell me that one of them automobiles is
down in the river!" gasped the countryman. "I don't see nothin' of
it."

"It most be down on the bottom, close to where that end of the bridge
settled," answered Sam "I suppose there will be a job here for
somebody to haul it out."

"If they want a man for that, I'm the feller to do it," returned the
countryman. "Maybe I had better go down to the hotel and see about
it."

"Better wait till morning," suggested Tom. "The young man who owns the
machine can't see anyone now."

"All right, just as you say."

"Now that this bridge is down, how can we get over the river?" mused
Sam.

"Where do you want to go?"

"We were on our way to Hope Seminary. I suppose we can go around to
the Upper Road, but it will be four or five miles out of our way."

"It ain't necessary to go that far. You go down stream about half a
mile on the Craberry Road, and you can cross The Shallows."

"Isn't it too deep for an automobile?" questioned Tom.

"No, not now. It might be, though, in wet weather."

"I don't know about that," said Sam, and shook his head. "We don't
want any accident in the water, Tom."

"Oh, come ahead, we can try it, anyway," returned Tom, who, in spite
of the recent happenings, was as anxious as ever to get to the
seminary and see Nellie.

Leaving the countryman at his self-appointed task of putting a barrier
across the road-- and he had said that he would also, get over to the
other side of the river somehow and put a barrier there-- the Rover
boys swung around once again in their touring car, and headed for the
side road which had been mentioned to them. Soon they reached what was
known as "The Shallows," a spot where the river broadened out, and was
filled with loose stones and sandbars.

By the rays from the headlights, which they now turned on to their
fullest extent, the car was guided into the water. At the edge, they
saw several tracks made, undoubtedly, by wagons, and one track
evidently made by the anti-skid tires of an automobile.

"Well, if one auto got through, we ought to be able to make it,"
remarked Tom, grimly.

"Better take it on low gear," suggested his brother. "We can't see in
this water, and we may go down in a hole before we know it."

Slowly and cautiously, Tom guided the machine along, trying to keep as
much as possible to the high points of the various sandbars which ran
in a diagonal direction to the stream itself. Once or twice they
bumped over some rather large stones, and once they went into a hollow
which was somewhat deeper than expected, but, with it all, they
managed to keep the working parts of the car above the surface of the
stream, and inside of five minutes found themselves safe and sound on
the opposite shore, and headed for another side road which joined the
main highway less than a quarter of a mile beyond.

"I am mighty glad we are out of that," remarked Sam, as they left the
rather uneven side road and came out on the smooth highway. "I must
say, I don't like autoing in the water."

"Pooh, that wasn't so bad!" replied Tom. "But it would be, I think,
after a heavy storm, when the river was swollen. It must be getting
late," he added. "Better speed her up a little, or we'll get to Hope
just in time to say 'good-night,'" and he smiled grimly.

Fortunately for the boys, there was very little traveling that night.
They met but two wagons and one automobile; and these on straight
stretches of the road where there was little danger of collision. Tom
was now running at thirty-five to forty miles an hour, and this was
rather dangerous where the highway curved, and where what was ahead
was partly hidden by, trees and bushes.

"Here we are at last!" cried Tom, presently, as they came in sight of
Hope Seminary, a fine collection of buildings nestling in a pretty
grove of trees. All the dormitory windows showed lights, and there was
also a light in the reception parlor of the main building, for which
the lads were thankful.

"Give 'em the horn, Tom," suggested Sam.

"Sure! I was only waiting to get a little closer," was the answer, and
then, as the automobile turned into the seminary grounds and ran along
the road leading up to the main entrance, Tom sounded the horn in a
peculiar fashion, a signal which had been arranged between the boys
and the girls long before.

"Tom!"

"Sam!"

The cries came from two girls dressed in white, who had been seated on
a rustic bench near a small fountain. Now, as Tom brought the car to a
quick stop, the girls hurried forward.

"Hello, here we are again!" sang Tom, merrily, and leaping to the
ground he caught Nellie Laning by both hands. "How are you?"

"Oh, I am pretty well, Tom."

"And how are you, Grace?" came from Sam, as he, too, left the
automobile.

"Oh, Sam, I am so glad you have come!" cried Grace Laning. "Nellie and
I have been waiting for you."

"Well, we are glad we are here. We have had quite an adventure
to-night."

"Oh, did you have a breakdown?" questioned Grace, anxiously.

"No, but we had to go to the rescue of a fellow who ran into the
river."

"Oh, dear! Troubles never seem to come singly," sighed Nellie.

"What do you mean!" demanded Tom, quickly. "Is something wrong here?"

"Indeed there is, Tom!" answered Grace. And then, with a look at her
older sister, who had turned her face away, she continued: "I think it
is a shame! If it was not that it would make it look as if Nellie were
guilty, we would pack up at once and leave this place."

"Why, what do you mean?" came from both of the Rovers.

"Oh, Grace, perhaps you had better not tell them," cried Nellie, with
almost a sob.

"Nellie!" And now Tom caught the girl tightly in his arms. "What has
happened?"

"I-- I-- can't tell!" sobbed the girl. "Grace will tell you."

"I don't suppose it is necessary to go into all the details," said
Grace, "but the long and short of it is, that Nellie is suspected of
stealing a four-hundred-dollar diamond ring."

"What!" ejaculated Tom.

"It was this way, Tom," pursued Grace. "One of the teachers here, a
Miss Harrow, who assists the seminary management by keeping some of
the books, had a diamond ring said to be worth four hundred dollars
placed in her possession by a Miss Parsons, another teacher. It seems
that Miss Parsons had an eccentric old aunt, who wished to give the
seminary some money, and so turned over the ring, to be converted into
cash. This ring Miss Harrow left on her desk in the office. Nellie
went into the office to see the teacher, but finding no one there,
came away. Then Miss Harrow came back a few minutes later, and found
the diamond ring gone. She at once made inquiries, but as she could
find nobody who had been in the once after Nellie had left, she called
Nellie in and wanted her to tell what had become of the piece of
jewelry."

  CHAPTER IV

 A FOUR-HUNDRED-DOLLAR RING

"Did you see this ring, Nellie?." questioned Tom, after a painful
pause.

"Why, yes, it was lying in the middle of a flat-top desk," responded
the girl, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief.

"Didn't somebody go into the office after you were there?"

"I don't know, Tom. In fact, nobody seems to know."

"I was in the office with another girl about five minutes before
Nellie went there," came from Grace. "I saw the ring there, too, and I
thought it was very foolish to leave it so exposed. Why, anybody could
have run off with it."

"It certainly was careless," put in Sam.

"Miss Harrow said she was on the point of putting it in the safe when
she was called by 'phone to one of the other buildings. She had a
dispute to settle between some of the hired help, and she did not
think of the ring until some time later. Then, so she says, she rushed
back to the office to find it missing."

"Well, I think it is a shame that she accused Nellie," said Tom,
stoutly and with something of a savage look in his eyes. "Nellie, if I
were you, I wouldn't stand for it."

"She-- she hasn't accused me, exactly," returned the suffering girl.
"But she intimated that I must have taken the ring, so it's just as
bad."

"What does the seminary management have to say about it?" asked Sam.

"They seem to think it lies between Nellie and the teacher," answered
Grace.

"In that case, how do we know the teacher didn't take the ring
herself?" broke in Tom, quickly.

"Oh, do you think that possible?" questioned Nellie, in surprise.

"It's more reasonable to think she took it than you did. Anyway, she
hasn't any right to accuse you," went on Tom, bluntly.

"As I said, Tom, she hasn't accused me-- that is, openly; but I know
what she thinks, and I know what she will make others think," returned
Nellie. And now she showed signs of bursting into tears again. "Oh, I
feel as if I must pack up and go home!"

"Don't you do it, Nellie. That would make it look as if you were
guilty. You stay here and face the music." Then, as Nellie began to
cry again, Tom took her in his arms and held her tightly.

"Come on!" said Sam, in a low tone of voice. "I think some people at
the window are listening." And he led the way to a distant portion of
the seminary grounds. After that, Grace told all she knew of the
miserable affair, and Nellie related just how she had seen the diamond
ring on the teacher's desk.

"Was the window open at the time?" questioned the older Rover boy.

"If I remember rightly, the window was tight shut," replied Nellie.

"Yes, it was shut when I was in the office," put in Grace. "I have
been trying to think out some way by which the ring could have
disappeared, but without success."

The matter was talked over for some time, and then the girls
questioned the boys regarding the happening at the broken bridge.
Nellie, and Grace also, wanted to know the latest news from Dick and
Dora.

"So far as I know, Dora is in fine health and enjoying herself in the
city," said Tom. "But Dick is having his hands full, and I rather
think that, sooner or later, I'll have to pack up and go to his
assistance."

"Then you'll leave Brill for good?" questioned Nellie.

"I think so. I can't be breaking in on my college course every now and
then as I have been doing, and pass my examinations. More than that, I
begin to believe that I was not cut out for a college man. I am like
Dick; I prefer a business career rather than a professional one. It is
Sam who is going to make the learned one of the family."

"Oh, come now, Tom! Don't pile it on!" pleaded the younger brother.
And yet he looked greatly pleased; and Grace looked pleased, too.

"But if you leave Brill, you won't be able to get here very often,
Tom," remarked Nellie, wistfully.

"That is true. But if I have to go to New York, why can't you go,
too?"

"Oh, Tom!"

"Well, that is what Dora did when Dick gave up his college career. I
think the folks understand----"

Just then a bell in the tower of the main seminary building began to
clang loudly. At the first stroke both girls started.

"There goes the first bell!" cried Grace. "We must go."

"Oh, hang the bell!" muttered Tom, and then, as Grace ran towards the
building, with Sam beside her, he once more caught Nellie by the hand.

"Now say, Nellie, don't you think----"

"Oh, Tom, I must get in before the second bell rings!" pleaded Nellie.

"Yes, but won't you promise----"

"How can I promise anything, Tom, with this affair of the missing
ring----"

"Missing ring! You don't suppose for one minute that that is going to
make any difference to me, do you?"

"Oh, no, Tom. I know you too well for that." And now Nellie gave him a
look that thrilled him through and through. "But I think I ought to
clear my name before-- before I do anything else."

"All right. I suppose it has got to be as you say," returned Tom,
hopelessly. "But listen! If they make any more trouble for you,
promise me that you will let me know."

"All right, Tom, I will." And then, after Tom had stolen a quick kiss,
Nellie hastened her steps, and a few seconds later she and her sister
disappeared within the building.

"Do you know what I'd like to do, Sam?" muttered Tom, as the brothers
turned away from the seminary grounds in the automobile. "I'd like to
wring that Miss Harrow's neck! What right has she to accuse Nellie?"

"No right at all, Tom. But one thing is certain, the ring must be
missing. I don't think that the teacher had anything to do with taking
it. They don't have that sort here."

"Possibly not. At the same time, to my mind it is far more reasonable
to suppose that she took it than that Nellie had anything to do with
it," declared Tom, stoutly.

"If the window was closed down, it seems to me that the ring must have
been taken by somebody in the building," pursued Sam, thoughtfully.
"Perhaps one of the hired help did it."

"Maybe." Tom gave a long sigh. "I certainly hope they clear the matter
up before long. I shall be very anxious to hear from the girls about
it."

As the young collegians had received permission to be out after hours,
they did not attempt to take the short cut through The Shallows on
returning to Brill. Instead, they went around by another road, over a
bridge that was perfectly safe.

"It's not so late, after all," remarked Sam, as they entered their
room. "Perhaps I had better, finish that theme."

"Oh, finish it in the morning," returned Tom, with a yawn. "You'll
feel brighter."

"All right," answered Sam, who felt sleepy himself; and a few minutes
later the brothers retired.

The next morning found Sam at work on the theme long before the hour
for breakfast. Tom was also up, and said he would take a walk around
the grounds to raise an appetite.

"As if you needed anything of that sort," grinned Sam. "The first
thing you know, you'll be eating so much that the college management
will be charging you double for board."

Down on the campus, Tom ran into Songbird. and, a few minutes later,
William Philander Tubbs. Songbird, as usual, had a pad and pencil in
his hand.

"Composing verses, I suppose," remarked Tom. "What have you got now?"

"Oh, it isn't so very much," returned Songbird, hesitatingly. "It's a
little poem I was writing about dogs."

"Dogs!" chimed in William Philander. "My gracious me! What sort of
poetry can you get up about dogs? I must confess, I don't like them.
Unless, of course, they are the nice little lap-dog kind."

"This isn't about a lap-dog, exactly," returned Songbird. "It's about
a watchdog."

"Um! By the way, Songbird, haven't the Sandersons a new watchdog?"

"Yes." And now Songbird reddened a little.

"Well, let us have the poem, anyway. I love dogs, and some poetry
about them ought to run along pretty good."

Thereupon, rather hesitatingly, Songbird held up his writing-pad and
read the following:

  "The sun sinks low far in the west--
      The farmer plodeth home to rest,
   The watchdog, watching in the night,
      Assures him ev'ry thing is right."

"Fine!" cried Tom. "Real, dyed-in-the-wool poetry that, Songbird. Give
us some more." And then the would-be poet continued:

   "The sun comes up and it is morn,
      The farmer goes to plow his corn,
   The watchdog, watching through the day,
      Keeps ev'ry tramp and thief away."

   And be it night or be it day----"

  "The watchdog's there, and there to stay!"

continued Tom, and then on:

  "The watchdog, watching in his sleep,
      Catches each flea and makes him weep!"

"Catching fleas indeed!" interrupted Songbird. "Now, Tom, I didn't
have any fleas in this poem."

"But all dogs have fleas, Songbird-- they own them naturally. You
wouldn't deprive a poor, innocent dog of his inheritance, would you?"

"But, Tom, see here----"

"But I wanted to say the poem couldn't be better," went on the
fun-loving Rover. "Why don't you send it to some of the dog journals?
They would be sure to print it."

"Dog journals?" snorted the would-be poet. "Do you think I write for
such a class of publications as that?"

"Well, you might do worse," responded Tom, coolly. "Now, for a
first-class journal, they ought to pay you at least a dollar a foot."

"Oh, Tom, you are the worst ever!" murmured Songbird, as he turned
away. A few minutes later, Tom saw him sit down on a bench to compose
verses as industriously as ever.

"I think I must be going," said William Philander, who had listened to
Songbird's effort without making any comment.

"Wait a minute, my dear Billy, I want----"

"Now, Tom, please don't call me Billy," pleaded the dudish student.

"Oh, all right, Philly. I was just going to say----"

"Now, Tom, Philly is just as bad as Billy, if not worse. You know my
name well enough."

"All right, Tubblets. If you prefer any such handle to the tub, why
I----"

"Tom, if you are going to talk that way, I'll really have to leave
you, don't you know," cried William Philander. "I am not going to
stand for it any longer. I have told you at least a hundred times----"

"No, not a hundred times, not more than sixty-eight times at the
most," interrupted Tom.