"And how is my mother?" questioned Dora quickly.

"She is happy, Miss Stanhope; but the shock of your sudden
disappearance has made her quite ill."

"And Josiah Crabtree?"

"Has disappeared.  Your mother said he wanted to marry her after
you went away, but she would not listen to him.  I imagine that
after this he will keep his distance."

"He had better keep his distance--if he wants to remain out of
jail," put in Dick.

The return of the boys to Putnam Hall was the signal for a
regular jollification, and my readers can rest assured that all
of the cadets made the most of it.  Captain Putnam ordered an
extra dinner for them, and in the evening a huge bonfire was
started on the campus, and, as the boys gathered around Dick,
Tom, and Sam they sang "For he's a jolly good fellow!" until they
were hoarse.  It was a celebration never to be forgotten.  "Just
the right sort for a home coming," as Sam expressed it.

"Let them have it," said the master, as he looked on.  "They
deserve it."

"You are right," returned George Strong.

"Those Rover boys have proved themselves regular heroes."

       *       *       *       *       *

Here I will bring to a close the story of the Rover boys' doings
on the ocean while trying to rescue Dora Stanhope from her
abductors and while endeavoring to recover the fortune stolen
from Rush & Wilder.

Words cannot describe the happiness which mother and daughter
felt when Mrs. Stanhope and Dora found themselves together once
more.  Tears were freely shed, and the widow blessed the boys who
had done so much for herself and her child.  She declared that
her eyes were now open to the real wickedness of Josiah Crabtree,
never more would she have anything to do with the man.

Rush & Wilder were immensely pleased to recover what had been
taken from their safe, and when money and securities were
returned to them they rewarded the Rover boys and the others
handsomely for their work.  But to this day Dick declares that
the recovery of the stolen fortune was "only a side issue."  "We
were out to rescue Dora," he says.  "And, thank God, we did it!"

In due course of time the evildoers were brought to trial, and
with Mumps and the others to testify against them, all were
sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.  Being wounded,
Arnold Baxter was taken, as before, to a hospital; but this time
the authorities kept a close watch on him.

With their enemies in custody the Rover boys imagined that life
at Putnam Hall would now run along smoothly.  But in this they
were mistaken.  They had hardly settled down to their studies
when a strange message from over the sea started them off on a
search for their father, the particulars of which will be related
in another volume, to be entitled: "The Rover Boys in the Jungle;
or, Stirring Adventures in Africa."  In this book we will not
only meet Dick, Tom, and Sam again, but also Dan Baxter and
several others with whom we are already acquainted.

But for the time being all went well, and here we will leave the
three boys, wishing them the best of good luck in the future.


The End