"This is as pretty as the other shore," remarked Songbird. And he began:

"Oh, dreamy days in summer time, When purling brooks and shady nooks—"

"If you start up again I'll jump overboard," interrupted Tom.

"Do so, you need a cooling off," grunted Powell; but that was the end of the poetry for the time being.

They were just passing one of the coves when they caught sight of a man sitting on an overhanging tree, fishing.

"Hullo, what luck?" cried Fred, good-naturedly.

"Fair," was the somewhat surly answer. Then, as the man caught sight of the others in the boat, he turned his head away.

"That fellow looks familiar to me," ejaculated Sam, in sudden and strong excitement.

"And he looks familiar to me, too," exclaimed Tom.

"Do you think it is Arnold Baxter?"

"If it isn't, it's his double," went on Tom. "Row the boat over quick, boys."

"Who is this Arnold Baxter? The father of Dan Baxter?" questioned Fred.

"The same, Fred."

"The fellow who escaped from prison, or the hospital?" asked Powell.

"That's the chap."

Without delay the rowboat was turned in toward the overhanging tree.

Scarcely had this been done when the fisherman pulled in his line with all speed, took up his string of fish and ran into the bushes between two cliffs of rocks.

"He is getting out, and in a hurry too!" said Fred.

"Hi, there, stop! We want to talk to you!" sang out Tom, at the top of his lungs.

"Ain't got time," roared back the strange fisherman, and on the instant he was gone.

"It must have been Arnold Baxter, beyond a doubt," said Sam.

"If it was, what is he doing here?" questioned his brother.

"He's keeping out of the reach of the law," answered Powell. "I suppose he thought he was perfectly safe in such an out-of-the-way place as this."

"And he was fishing just to kill time," put in Fred.

"I'd like to go after him and make sure," went on Tom. "What do you say, Sam?"

"I am with you."

"But we may be late—" began Fred.

"Oh, Captain Putnam will excuse us when I tell him what delayed us."

The rowboat soon reached the shore, and Sam and Tom leaped to the brushwood, where the trail of the vanished fisherman was plainly to be seen.

It was decided that Fred and Powell should remain in charge of the rowboat, so that nobody might come and make off with the craft. Leaving their fishing outfits behind them the two Rover boys struck out through the bushes, and soon gained a narrow forest path running through the woods that skirted this section of Bass Lake.

"I wish we could catch Baxter," said Tom, on the way. "It would be a feather in our cap, Sam."

"We must be careful. More than likely he is armed, and he won't hesitate to shoot if he is cornered."

"Oh, I know that. The most we can do is to follow him until we reach some place where we can summon assistance."

The path led deeper and deeper into the woods and then along a fairsized brook. They kept their eyes wide open, but could see nothing excepting a number of birds and an occasional squirrel or chipmunk. Once they heard the distant bark of a fox and this was the only sound that broke the stillness.

"It's rather a lonely place," said Sam, after a silence lasting several minutes. "I must say I shouldn't like to meet Arnold Baxter here alone."

"For all we know he may be watching us from behind some tree."

Several times they got down to examine the path. Footprints could be seen quite plainly, but neither of the boys was expert enough at trailing to tell whether these prints had been made recently or not.

"It would take an Indian scout to make sure of these footmarks," said Tom. "They are beyond me."

"Let us go a bit further," returned his brother. "Then if we don't see anything, we may as well go back to the lake."

"Hark!"

They listened intently and at a distance heard a crashing in the brushwood.

"That sounded as if somebody had jumped across the brook, Tom!"

"Just what I should say, Sam. Come on!"

Again they went forward, a distance of thirty or forty yards. At this point the path seemed to dwindle down to little or nothing.

"We have come to the end of the trail," was Tom's comment, as he gazed around sharply.

"Do you see anything?" queried his brother.

"Nothing much. One or two of the bushes over yonder seem to be brushed aside and broken."

"What do you think we had best do now?"

"Listen!"

Both remained silent for several minutes, but nothing out of the ordinary reached their ears.

"We may as well give it up, Sam. It is growing dark and there is no telling where this search would lead us. We might even get lost in the woods."

They retraced their steps as quickly as they could to where they had left the rowboat.

"What luck?" queried Fred.

"None; he got away from us."

"It's too bad," said Powell; and then the return to the camp was made without further delay.



CHAPTER XXIV

MORE RIVALRY

"Do you mean to tell me that you saw Arnold Baxter?" exclaimed Dick, after listening to Sam and Tom's story.

"We did," replied the youngest Rover. "There was no mistake?"

"If it wasn't Arnold Baxter do you think he would take such pains to get out of our reach?" asked Tom.

"That is true, Tom. But it seems so unnatural. What can he be doing in this out-of-the-way place?"

"As Powell says, he must be keeping out of the reach of the law. Perhaps he expects to keep shady until this affair blows over."

"As if it would blow over!" cried Sam. "Dick, we ought to do something."

Captain Putnam had already learned why the four cadets had been late in returning to camp. The Rovers now went to consult him further.

"I agree, something should be done," said the captain. "Perhaps you had better go to the nearest telegraph office, Richard, and telegraph to your folks. You might also get some of the local authorities to take up the hunt for this criminal."

"Who are the local authorities?"

"I really don't know, but we can find out at Oakville."

In the end Dick and Tom received permission to leave camp for an indefinite time. Late as it was, they hurried to Oakville and caught the telegraph operator at the little railroad station just as he was shutting up for the night.

Having sent the message to their father they made inquiries of the operator and learned that the town boasted of a Judge Perkins and that the local constable was Munro Staton.

"Do you mean the farmer who lives down on the road to Bass Lake?" asked Dick. "The man who has twin daughters?"

"That's the man."

"Why, he was in camp to-day, with his daughters," cried Dick. "Wish I had known of this before. I might have hired him to make a hunt for the fellow we are after. Where does that judge live?"

"Sorry, but he went to New York yesterday and won't be back for several days."

The boys said no more, but without delay turned away from Oakville and made their way to the Staton farmhouse.

"Hullo! I didn't expect to see you again to-day!" exclaimed Munro Staton, as he opened the door for them. "Come in."

They entered, to find the girls sewing and Mrs. Staton darning stockings. Mr. Staton had been reading his favorite weekly newspaper.

"We have come on a very important errand, Mr. Staton," began Dick. "We have been down to Oakville and learned there that you are the local police officer."

"Ah! Do you want somebody arrested?"

"If it can be done."

"Somebody at the camp?" put in Helen.

"No, I wish he was at the camp," said Tom. "But I'm afraid he is miles away."

All of the Statons were interested and listened to the tale Tom and Dick had to tell with close attention.

"Seems to me I've heard of this Baxter and his son," said Munro Staton, scratching his head. "How does he look?"

As well as he was able Tom described the man, while Dick took a sheet of paper and a pencil and made a rough but life-like sketch of the individual.

"Why, you are quite an artist!" said Alice Staton as she gazed at the picture. "I'm sure I'd recognize that man if I met him."

"So would I," added her father. "Can I keep this picture?"

"To be sure," replied Dick. "Now, Mr. Staton, to come to business. What are your services as constable worth a day?"

"Oh, about two or two dollars and a half."

"Well if you will start a hunt for this man Baxter at once I'll guarantee you three dollars per day for a week or two, and if you succeed in landing him in jail I'll guarantee you a reward of one hundred dollars. I know my father will pay that amount willingly."

"And if he won't, I will," said Tom.

"You must be rich."

"We are fairly rich, Mr. Staton. This man is a great criminal and has been an enemy to our family for years. We don't want to see him at large."

"Well, I'll take the job and do the best I can for you," said Munro Staton and arose to his feet. "My hired man can run the farm while I am gone."

He said he knew the spot where the boys had first seen Arnold Baxter, and he would visit it at sunrise the next day and take up the trail as best he could.

"That trail through the woods used to lead to the village of Hopdale," he said. "Perhaps I'll learn something about him over there."

"I sincerely hope that you do," returned Dick.

The boys, and especially Tom, were worn out with traveling and readily consented to borrow a horse from Munro Staton, on which to ride back to camp. The steed was returned early in the morning.

"It's rather a wild-goose chase," said Dick, in talking matters over with his brothers. "But I don't know of anything else to do. Mr. Staton may catch Baxter quicker than a metropolitan detective could do the job."

Three days passed, and during that time the boys received two telegrams from home, stating they should do as they thought best in the Baxter affair, and that a detective was on the way. Then the detective appeared at the camp and followed Munro Staton on the hunt for the missing criminal. But the search by both men proved useless, and nothing more was seen of Arnold Baxter for the time being.

The cadets had arranged for a series of athletic contests, to come off at the beginning of the following week. There was to be broad and high jumping, and running, as well as throwing the hammer. All of the students were interested, and for some time these contests formed the total subject of conversation.

The cadets to enter for the various events, eight in number, were those already introduced in these pages and a dozen or fifteen in addition, all lively, wide-awake youths, each of whom looked as if he would do his best to win.

In a manner not to be easily explained, the camp divided itself into two factions, one led by Dick and Major Larry, and the other led by Lew Flapp and Pender. To the former belonged the Rovers and their numerous chums, and to the latter Rockley, Ben Hurdy, and boys of a similar turn. Each crowd had one or more followers entered for every event and, as before, numerous wagers were made as to which person and which crowd would win.

Dick had entered for the high jump, Tom for the hammer throwing, and Sam for a half mile race for cadets of his own class. The boys practiced a good deal, although not always where the others could see what they were doing.

The day for the contests was a perfect one and as news of the events had traveled to Oakville and other places, quite a respectable crowd of outsiders came to the camp to witness the affair.

"I hope you Rover boys win," said Alice Staton, who had come with her twin sister and her mother in a buggy.

"Thank you," returned Dick politely. "We shall certainly do our best. But you must remember that we have some first-class athletes at this academy."

"Oh, I don't doubt it. All academies have them," put in Helen Staton.

The first event to come off was the hammer throwing, to take place in the middle of the parade ground. There were four entries for this, Tom, as already mentioned, Jackson, Powell, and a big boy named Larson.

Larson, who belonged to the Flapp crowd, was looked on as the probable winner, for he handled the hammer exceedingly well. But Jackson could also throw, as the others well knew. Nothing was known about the skill of Tom or Powell in this direction.

The contest began with a throw by Powell. It was not very good and Jackson outdistanced him by three feet.

"That's the style, Jackson!" cried Lew Flapp. "Show 'em what you can do."

"This is the day our crowd comes out on top," put in Pender.

"Crowing rather early, seems to me," came from Fred Garrison dryly.

It was now Tom's turn and he threw the hammer with all the force at his command. It fell just beyond the point reached by Jackson.

"Good for you, Tom!" cried Sam. "That's the way to do it."

"Humph! Just wait till Larson takes his turn," came from a Flapp follower.

Larson stepped to the mark with the air of one who knows just what he is doing. Up went the hammer with a long swing—to land in the very spot where Tom had thrown it.

"A tie! A tie!" was the cry.

"Well done, Larson!" came from Lew Flapp, but he was by no means satisfied over the showing made.

Being tied, it was necessary for Tom and Larson to throw once more, and again Tom took his position at the mark.

"Be careful, Tom," whispered Dick. "Take your time."

Again the hammer swung up into the air and went sailing forward.

"Hurrah, eight inches beyond his first mark!" came the cry.

"Larson will have to hump himself to beat that!"

It was now Larson's turn and he stepped to the mark with a quick, earnest air. He realized that he must do his best if he expected to beat Tom.

Jackson had picked up the hammer and he it was who had handed the article to Tom.

As Larson swung the hammer on high Tom cried out quickly:

"Stop!"

"What's the matter with you?" cried Jackson uglily.

"I want Captain Putnam to examine that hammer."

"There ain't nothing wrong with it."

"Possibly not. But please remember that I used the one marked A."

"So did I," came from Powell.

Captain Putnam brushed forward.

"I will look at that hammer, please," he said to Larson quietly. He knew that the cadets had several hammers for practicing throwing in the camp.

"I—I guess it's all right," faltered Larson. "This hammer is marked B."

"B!" cried Tom. "That B hammer is about half a pound lighter than the one marked A."

"It ain't so!" yelled Jackson.

"Let me see the hammer marked A," said the captain, and it was brought from the spot where Jackson had thrown it. "It is certainly heavier than this one," he went on. "Jackson, what do you mean by making such a substitution?"

"I—er—I didn't know there was any difference."

"But why did you make the change at all?"

"I—er—I knew Larson liked this hammer better. The handle just suits him."

"That is so," replied Larson blandly.

"We will try the contest over again," said Captain Putnam. "And every contestant will use the hammer marked A."

"I don't like the hammer marked A," grumbled Larson.

"I would just as lief use the hammer marked B," said Tom quickly.

"So would I," added Powell, who felt he could not win anyway.

"Very well then, we will use the hammer marked B," said Captain Putnam. "And after this, Jackson, be sure of what you are doing," he added sharply, and at the words the boy who had tried to work such a mean trick was glad enough to slink back out of sight as much as possible.



CHAPTER XXV

WINNING THE CONTESTS

Powell was again the first to throw the hammer and this time it went two feet beyond his first mark.

"Good for you, Songbird!" said Tom. "I wish you had made it a yard."

Jackson came up with a scowling face. He did his best, but this time fell behind Powell by four inches.

"You ought to have stuck to the other hammer, Jackson," laughed the youth who composed songs.

"Don't you throw that up to me!" whispered Jackson fiercely. "If you do I'll hammer you for it."

"Is that meant for a pun, Jackson?"

"No, it ain't. I won't stand being slurred. I'll pound you good."

"With the hammer?"

"No, with my fists."

"Really? Well, you'll have to spell able first." Tom came next, as before, and now the hammer flew out four feet and nine inches beyond his first mark.

"That shows what the other hammer can do," said Major Larry.

Larson was as much out of sorts as Jackson, but nevertheless he resolved to do his best to win the contest. Up went the hammer with a mighty swing and circled through the air. But the throw was behind that of Tom by fourteen inches.

"Hurrah! Tom Rover wins!" was the cry, and many rushed forward to congratulate him, while Larson and Jackson retired as quickly as they could and in great disgust.

The next contest was a dash of two hundred yards and was won by a boy named Bird.

"He's a bird!" sang out Tom loudly, and at this the crowd laughed heartily.

Then came a race of a quarter of a mile for the little cadets and this was won by Harry Moss, with Joe Davis a close second. Lew Flapp had backed up Ben Hurdy, but cigarettes had done their work on Hurdy and his wind gave out long before the race came to a finish.

"Good for you, Harry," said Dick, slapping the little cadet on the back. "That was a fine run you made. And your run was almost as good, Joe," he added, to Davis.

"I don't care if I did lose," panted Davis. "Both of us beat Ben Hurdy hollow, and that's all I wanted to do."

"Oh, there's no moss growing on Moss," cried Tom, and this brought out another laugh.

The next contest to come off was the high jump, for which Dick had entered, along with Pender, Rockley, and four others, including Hans Mueller. What had possessed the German boy to enter was beyond finding out, for he could scarcely jump at all. Yet many, for the fun of it, told him they thought he would surely win.

"Oh, you'll outjump everybody," said Sam. "None of 'em will come anywhere near you."

"Dot's it! Dot's it!" cried Hans excitedly. "I vos chump so high like nefer vos, ain't it?"

A lad named Lemon was the first to go over the bar, at a height of four feet and two inches. Another cadet followed, going him two inches better.

"Now, Hans, see what you can do," said Major Larry.

"Vos it mine turn to chump?"

"Yes. Are you ready?"

"Sure I vos."

"How high up shall they place the stick?"

"Apout like dot," and Hans pointed to the top of his head.

"All right, fellows, up she goes!" sang out Tom, and the stick went up.

Hans spat on his hands as if going to lift something. Then he squared his shoulders and drew far back from the jumping place.

"Gif me lots of room, eferypotty!" he sang out.

"All the room you want, Dutchy!" cried one of the cadets.

Away Hans started for the stick, running as swiftly as his short legs would carry him. When about ten feet away he made a wild leap, stuck up both legs in the air, and came down flat on his back with a loud whack.

"Hurrah, Hans wins!" cried Tom. "Best fall I've seen in a year!"

"Wh—who—vat—" gasped Hans, trying to recover his wind. "Who knocked me der pack ofer annahow?"

"Nobody hit you, Hans."

"Who put geese grease der groundt on ver I run, hey?"

"Nobody."

"Well, did I knock der stick town?"

"No, you didn't come anywhere near the stick."

"Do I got some more trials?"

"I think, Mueller, that you had better retire," said Captain Putnam with a smile. "High jumping does not seem to agree with you."

"Maype dot's so, captain. Veil, I ton't care annahow. I vill drow der hammer ven ve haf some more of dem kondests," and then Hans dropped to the rear.

Rockley was the next to jump, and his record was an inch better than that already made.

"That's all right," said Lew Flapp.

Two other pupils now took their turns in jumping and Rockley's record was speedily eclipsed. Then Dick came along and sent the record still higher.

"That's the talk, Dick," said Tom enthusiastically. "I don't think Pender can do as well."

"Can't I," sneered Pender. "I'll show you."

On he came, measuring his distance with care, and went over the stick at the same height Dick had taken.

"Another tie!" was the cry.

The last boy to jump did not do as well as Rockley, so the contest was voted a tie between Dick and Gus Pender.

"Now, Dick, you must win," said Sam.

"You think a good lot of his ability," sneered Lew Flapp, who stood close by, and started to walk off.

He had scarcely taken a step when Dick gave him a quick shove that sent the tall boy flat on his face.

"I'll teach you to step on my foot, Lew Flapp!" he cried hotly.

"What's the trouble?" demanded several, while Mr. Strong came forward to investigate.

"Lew Flapp stepped on my right foot, and he did it just as hard as he could," said Dick.

"I—I didn't," growled Flapp.

"I say you did—and what is more, I think you did it on purpose."

"He did it to lame you, so you couldn't jump against Pender," came from Tom.

"Flapp, did you step on Rover's foot on purpose?" demanded George Strong.

"No, sir—didn't step on it at all."

"It is very strange. Rover says you did."

"He is mistaken."

"I am not mistaken. That is why I shoved him away, Mr. Strong."

"Is your foot hurt?"

"I don't think it is. But it didn't do it any good to have it stepped on."

"Probably not. Do you still wish to jump?"

"Yes, sir. If I don't, some of the crowd will say I am afraid," said Dick.

"In the future, Flapp, be more careful," said George Strong significantly.

"By Jinks! but the Flapp crowd are dandies!" whispered Tom. "First Jackson tried to change the hammers and now Flapp himself tries to disable you. We must be on our guard after this."

"That's true," replied his elder brother, and Sam nodded.

Because of Dick's hurt foot it was decided that Gus Pender should jump first. Pender did his best, clearing the stick by two inches better than before.

"Put it up an inch higher," cried Dick, and made the jump, despite a pain in the instep that was by no means pleasant. Then Pender tried again, but failed, and Dick was declared the winner.

"This is the day for the Rovers!" cried one cadet, and a cheer for Tom and Dick followed, while the Staton girls waved their handkerchiefs wildly.

After this came several other contests, in each of which the crowd pitted against the Flapp faction won. This made Lew Flapp, Rockley, Pender, Jackson and a number of others feel very sore.

"We must win something," cried Pender fiercely. "If we don't we'll be the laughing stock of the whole academy."

At last came the half mile race for which Sam had entered. Now, though Lew Flapp was much larger than most of the others, he was in the same class as Sam, and he had also entered this race, which boasted of ten contestants, including William Philander Tubbs.

"You have got to win this, Lew," said Rockley. "It ought to be easy for you, with such long legs."

"I mean to win and leave that Rover boy so far behind he'll feel sick," answered Flapp.

Sam had but little to say. But he knew that both Tom and Dick expected him to win, and he resolved to "do or die" as the saying goes.

"Even if I lose they shan't say I didn't try," the youngest Rover told himself.

Out on the field William Philander Tubbs was strutting around boastfully.

"I can't help but win, don't you know," he drawled. "Running is exactly in my line."

"Oh, what a whopper!" was Fred Garrison's comment. "Tubbs is about as lazy as they make 'em."

Soon all of the contestants were ready, and George Strong explained the conditions of the race.

"You are to run along the shore to the big rock where Lieutenant Merrick is stationed," he said. "You are to round the rock by running to the right, and you must keep to the right of the path on returning, so that you won't run into anybody. The first to reach this mark on the return wins the race. Do you understand?"

The runners said that they did.

"Very well then. Get ready. Go!"

Away piled the boys in a line that did not break for several yards. Then Sam Rover shot ahead, followed by Flapp and two cadets named Pigley and Franell.

"There they go!" was the shout.

"Leg it, Sam!" yelled Tom. "Leg it, old man!"

"Go it, Flapp! Don't let them win this race!"

"It's yours if you want it, Franell!"

"Remember how you won the race at Ithaca, Pigley!"

So the cries went on, while the outsiders cheered for nobody in particular.

"Oh, I hope that Rover boy wins," said Alice Staton to her sister.

"So do I," answered Helen.

"By Jove, but I think I'll rest a bit!" panted William Philander Tubbs, after running a couple of hundred yards, and he sat down on the grass, while the crowd laughed at him.

Sam was keeping the lead in good shape, although hard pressed by Flapp, Pigley, and Franell. His wind was good and he was running with a grace which brought forth much favorable comment.

"Whether he wins or not, he is the most graceful runner in the school," whispered George Strong to Captain Putnam. "I never saw his equal."

"You are right, Strong," answered the captain. "I'll tell you what," he added. "They are a great trio, those Rover boys. One cannot help but love them, in spite of their tricks and occasional wrong-doings."

"I agree, Captain Putnam. And I must say I do not find their wrong-doings so very great either," concluded George Strong.

The rock that was the turning point in the race was now almost gained. Sam still led, but Flapp was right at one shoulder, with Pigley at the other. Franell, at a look from Flapp, had dropped behind.

On the rock stood the lieutenant George Strong had mentioned. He was friendly to Lew Flapp and as Sam swept around the rock, he leaned forward, making the youngest Rover run about a yard further than was necessary. Then he allowed Flapp to cut the rock closely.

But Sam was on his mettle and now bounded ahead faster than ever, leaving Flapp and Pigley several yards in the rear.

"Confound him," thought Lew Flapp. "He'll win sure, unless Franell does as he agreed—good!"

Flapp almost shouted the word, as he saw Sam run into Franell with a crash and go down. The other boy had crossed the running path and gotten directly into Sam's way.

"I see you are out of it!" cried Flapp gleefully, as he shot by the prostrate figure.

"It was a trick!" muttered Sam to himself, and tried to rise to his feet. But the wind was knocked completely out of him and before he could recover the race was over, and Lew Flapp had come in ahead.



CHAPTER XXVI

SAM SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO

"It was another trick. He knocked me down on purpose."

Thus spoke Sam, as soon as he could get a hearing.

"Well, if that isn't beastly!" cried Franell, in apparent surprise. "I knocked him over! Why the little clown plumped right into me!

"Were you running on your side of the path?" questioned George Strong.

"I was, sir. Flapp and Pigley can prove it."

"That's right, Mr. Strong," said Lew Flapp.

"It was entirely Rover's fault," added Pigley. "He didn't keep to the right as he should."

The other runners were questioned, but could give no testimony, as they had not been close enough at the time of the collision.

"It is too bad it happened," said Captain Putnam.

"I would have won if it hadn't been for the fall," said Sam bitterly. "I was in the lead."

"Yes, but you were about winded," said Flapp. "I saw you getting groggy. That's what made you fall into Franell, I guess."

This remark made the youngest Rover more angry than ever.

"Mr. Strong," he said, turning to the head teacher suddenly, "will you do me a favor?"

"What do you wish, Rover?"

"Will you time me if I run that race over again?"

"You mean to run it over alone?"

"Yes, sir—unless Flapp will run against me."

"I've won the race and that's all there is to it," grumbled the tall boy doggedly.

"Certainly I'll time you, if you wish it," said Mr. Strong, who saw how disappointed Sam was. "But it won't be a race, you know."

"I don't care—I want to show them what I can do."

"Very well."

Sam drew up to the mark and declared himself ready.

"Shall I run with you?" asked Tom. "Just to urge you on, you know?"

"All right, Tom, come on."

"Go!" cried George Strong, watch in hand and his eye on the second hand.

Away went the brothers side by side, while a cheer went up from those who had wished to see Sam win.

Tom kept close to his brother until the rounding rock was gained and here Sam compelled him to drop behind.

"Go on!" yelled Tom good-naturedly. "Go! I'm after you!" and he put on an extra spurt. Sam also spurted and kept the lead by about two yards.

"Humph! that ain't running!" muttered Lew Flapp to Rockley, but nevertheless, he was greatly disturbed.

Down the line swept the two runners with the speed of the wind, Sam keeping his two yards' lead in spite of Tom's efforts to overtake him.

"Won!" was the shout. "And Tom Rover is close behind." And then the crowd gathered around George Strong to learn the time.

"Eight seconds better than Lew Flapp!" was the cry. "And Tom Rover came in four seconds better!"

"That shows what Sam Rover would have done had Franell kept out of his way."

"The race should have gone to Sam Rover!"

So the cries kept up until Captain Putnam compelled the cadets to quiet down.

Lew Flapp and his cronies were much disgusted and left the field almost immediately.

"He's afraid to stay," declared Dick. "He doesn't want Sam to challenge him," and this was the truth.

The foot races were followed by some prize shooting, a race on the lake, and then by a tub race, and a race in sacks, which called forth much laughter, not only from the cadets, but also from the visitors.

"It was just splendid!" declared Alice Staton to Dick, when it was all over. "I never had such a lovely time in my life."

"Nor I," added her twin sister. "But your brother should have had that running race. It was a shame to knock him down."

"Never mind," said Tom, who had come up. "All the boys know he can run faster than the winner anyway."

A luncheon was served to the visitors by Captain Putnam's order and after that the cadets and their newly-made friends were allowed to go walking, boating, or driving, as they saw fit. Swings had been erected in the grove close to the encampment and these were constantly patronized.

"It must be lots of fun to be a cadet," said Alice Staton, when ready to depart. "If I was a boy I should want to go to a military academy."

"Oh, it's not all play," said Tom. "We have to work pretty hard over our studies and sometimes a fellow doesn't feel like drilling, but has to do it all the same."

It can truly be said that the Flapp crowd were much disappointed over the results of the day's contests. Only two events had been won—a boat race of small importance and the race in which Lew Flapp had come off victor, and the latter victory was dimmed by the knowledge that Sam Rover had cut down Flapp's time over the course by eight seconds.

"We may as well sell out and go home," said Pender, in deep disgust.

"But we can't go home," returned Rockley. "We've got to stay right here and take all the taunts that come along."

"Nobody shall taunt me," cried Jackson. "If they try it I'll punch somebody's nose."

"And to think we lost our money, too," said Ben Hurdy, after a pause. "That's what makes me sick."

"Reckon you didn't lose much," said Lew Flapp, with a sickly grin.

"I lost all I had, and that's enough."

"Who won it?"

"Hans Mueller. That crazy Dutch boy was yelling for Tom Rover and I took him up."

The Flapp crowd did not feel like mingling with the visitors, and at the first opportunity Lew Flapp and his intimate cronies slipped away from the camp and hurried to the hermit's den they had discovered.

"We'll have a little jollification of our own," said Rockley, and his plan was speedily carried into effect, in a fashion which would not have been approved by Captain Putnam or any of the teachers under him.

"We must get after Dick Rover," said Flapp, while smoking a black-looking cigar. "As a captain he stands pretty high. If we can pull him down we'll be striking a blow at the whole Rover family and also at their intimate friends."

"Right you are. But the question is, How are we to get hold of him, and what are we to do?" put in Jackson.

"I've got a plan, but I don't know exactly how it will work."

"Let us have it, Lew," came from Gus Pender.

"Some dark night we'll go to Rover's tent and haul him from his cot. We'll wear masks and he'll think he's in for a bit of hazing and won't squeal very loud. Then we can blindfold him and bring him here."

"So far, so good," put in Rockley. "And after that?"

"You know how he hates liquor?"

"Does he, or is it all put on?" questioned Ben Hurdy.

"I can't say as to that, but anyway he pretends to hate it, so it amounts to the same thing. Well, after we have him here we can get him to drink something by hook or by crook, and when he falls asleep we can put an empty bottle in his hand and then somebody can bring Captain Putnam to the spot. That will wipe out Dick Rover's record as a model pupil all in a minute."

"Good!" almost shouted Rockley. "We can dose him easily. You just leave that for me."

"Wish we could get his brothers into it, too," came from Pender.

"Oh, we can serve them out some other way," answered Lew Flapp. "At the start, we don't want to bite off more than we can chew," he added slangily.

The matter was discussed for fully an hour, and when the meeting broke up each member understood fully what was to be accomplished.

Two days after the athletic contests the cadets had a prize drill. The cadets had been preparing for this for some time and each company did its best to win.

"I am greatly pleased with the showing made by all three companies," said Captain Putnam after the drilling and marching were at an end. "Companies B and C have done very well indeed. But for general excellence the average of Company A is a little above the others, so the prize must go to Captain Rover's command."

"Hurrah for Dick Rover!" was the cry, and this was followed by a cheer for First Lieutenant Powell and for Second Lieutenant Tom Rover.

"Humph! Forever cheering those Rovers!" muttered Flapp, who was in Company C. "My, but it makes me sick!"

"Never mind," whispered Rockley. "Just wait till we get the chance to work our little game."

At once Lew Flapp's face took on a cunning look.

"I've got an idea," he whispered in return. "Why not try it on to-night? Then Captain Putnam would say Rover had been celebrating because his company won the prize."

"You are right there, Lew, I didn't think of that. Wait till I sound the other fellows."

It did not take Rockley long to talk to his cronies, and presently he came back with a knowing look on his face.

"It's settled," he said. "By to-morrow morning Dick Rover will be in disgrace and will lose his position as captain of Company A."



CHAPTER XXVII

A PRISONER OF THE ENEMY

Never dreaming of the plot hatched out against him, Dick retired as usual that night. Now that the worry over the competitive drill was a thing of the past he realized that he was worn out, and scarcely had his head touched the pillow than he was in the land of Nod.

His awakening was a rude one. He felt himself raised up, a large towel was passed over his face and tied behind his head, and then he was dragged from his cot.

"Don't dare to make a sound!" whispered a low voice in his ear. "If you do, you'll be struck senseless."

"Hullo, I'm about to be hazed," thought Dick, and it must be admitted that he was far from pleased. "They think they are going to do something grand to the captain of the company that won the prize. Well, not if I can help it," and he began to struggle to free himself.

But his tormentors were too many for him and almost before he knew it his hands and his feet were made secure and a sack was drawn over his head. Then he was raised up and carried away he knew not to where.

"One thing is certain, they are taking me a long distance from camp," was his thought, when he found himself dumped into a rowboat. "Can they be going to the head of the lake?"

The idea of using the boat had been suggested by Jackson, who said it would bewilder Dick, so he would not know where he was being taken. And Jackson was right, the eldest Rover thought he was a long way from camp when he was placed on shore again.

His feet were now unloosed and he was made to march forward until the vicinity of the hermit's den was reached. Then he was carried into the den and tied fast to a log erected near one of the side walls.

"Take the sack from his head," came in the voice of Lew Flapp, and this was done and then the towel was also removed.

For the moment Dick could see nothing, for the glare of a large lantern was directly in his face. Then he made out half a dozen or more cadets standing around him, each with a red mask over his face, and a red skull cap with horns.

"Hullo, this must be a new secret society," he thought. "I've been initiated into the Order of Black Skulls, but never into the Order of Red Skulls. Wonder what they will want me to do?" There was a moment of silence and one of the masked cadets stepped to the front.

"Prisoner, are you prepared to meet your doom?" was the question put in a harsh voice.

"Oh, chestnuts!" cried Dick. "I went through that long ago, when I first came to Putnam Hall."

"Bow to your superiors," said another voice.

"Where are the superiors?" asked Dick innocently. "I don't see 'em."

"The prisoner is impertinent! Make him bow!"

At once several sprang behind Dick and forced him to move his head up and down.

"Let up, my head isn't on a hinge!" he cried. "Cut it short, for I'm sleepy."

"Make him drink the poison and at once!" put in another of the masked cadets.

The speaker tried to disguise his tones, but the voice sounded much like that of Lew Flapp and instantly Dick was on the alert.

"How much do you want me to drink?" he asked cheerfully.

"Only one glass, if you drink it without stopping to sneeze," put in another voice, and now Dick was certain that he recognized Rockley.

"These are no friends," he thought. "They are enemies and they intend to play me foul."

"How can I drink with my hands tied behind me?" he asked.

"We will hold the glass for you," said another, and Dick felt almost sure it was Gus Pender who uttered the words.

"It's the whole Flapp crowd," he mused. "I'm in a pickle and no mistake. I suppose they'll half kill me before they let me go."

"Will you drink?" asked another. He was small in size and Dick put him down as being Ben Hurdy.

"I want you to untie my hands."

"Very well, let the prisoner hold the glass," said Flapp.

"Thank you, Flapp."

"Who said I was Flapp?" growled the tall boy, in dismay.

"I say so."

"My name is Brown."

"All right then, Brown let it be," said Dick, not wanting to anger the bully too much.

The prisoner's hands were untied and a glass containing a dark-colored mixture was handed to him. Dick had heard of the "glass of poison" before, said glass containing nothing but mud and water well stirred up. But now he was suspicious. This glass looked as if it might contain something else.

"They'd as soon drug me as not," he thought. "For all I know this may be a dose strong enough to make an elephant sick. I don't think I'll drink it, no matter what they do."

"Prisoner, drink!" was the cry.

"Thanks, but I am not thirsty," answered Dick, as coolly as he could. "Besides, I had my dose of mud and water a long time ago."

"He must drink!" roared Rockley.

"Get the switches!" ordered Lew Flapp, and from a corner a number of long, heavy switches were brought forth and passed around.

Things began to look serious and it must be confessed that Dick's heart beat fast, for he had no desire to undergo a switching at the hands of such a cold-hearted crowd, who would be sure to lay on the strokes heavily.

"Don't you strike me," said Dick, thinking rapidly. "I'll drink fast enough. But I want to know one thing first."

"Well?"

"What are you going to do with me next?"

"Make you take the antidote for the poison," said Flapp.

"And what is that?"

"Another drink."

"They are going to drug me as sure as fate," reasoned Dick. "How can I outwit them?"

While he was deliberating there was a noise outside, as a night bird swept by the entrance to the hermit's den.

All of the masked cadets were startled and looked in that direction.

By inspiration Dick seized the moment to throw the contents of the glass over his shoulder into a dark corner. When the crowd turned back he had the glass turned up to his mouth and was going through the movement of swallowing.

"Ugh! what ugly stuff," he said, handing the glass to one of the crowd.

"Ha! he has swallowed the poison!" cried Lew Flapp, and nudged Rockley in the ribs. "That was easy, wasn't it?" he whispered.

"Give him the second glass," muttered Rockley. "That will make him as foolish as a fiddler."

Pender already had the glass handy. He passed it to Dick, who suddenly glared at him in an uncertain manner. Dick had smelt the liquor in the first glass and now realized something of the plot to bring him to disgrace.

"Say, but that stuff makes me feel lightheaded," he said. "Wasn't so bad, after all."

"Drink this, quick," cried Flapp, more eagerly than ever.

"All right," said Dick, and spilt a little out of the glass onto the floor. "Wonder what makes my hand shake so?" he murmured.

"Take this and it will brace you up," put in Pender.

"Ha, look there!" yelled Dick, gazing fixedly at the rear of the den. "See the three-headed owl!"

All looked in the direction and again he threw the contents of the glass behind him. Then he pretended to drink, while glaring at the cadets around him.

"Funny, I can't count you any more!" he muttered. "Six, seven, ten, 'leven, nine! Say, I'm all mixed up. Who put me on the merry-go-'round anyway?" He began to stagger. "Guess I'm on a toboggan slide, ain't I?" and he acted as if he could no longer stand up-right.

"Cut him loose, fellows!" cried Flapp, and this was done, and Dick staggered to the table, clutched it, slid to the floor and acted as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Say, that was dead easy!" cried Pender gleefully. "Took the stuff like a lamb."

"What's to do next, Flapp?" asked Jackson.

"Say, Jackson, don't speak my name, please," cried the tall boy in alarm.

"Oh, what's the odds," put in Pender. "Rover is dead to the world. Rockley knew just how to fix those doses."

"That's right, Gus," came from Rockley.

"We had better not lose time here," went on Flapp presently. "Let us tell Captain Putnam without delay. He'll have Rover brought back to camp just as he is, and that will disgrace him forever."

"Wait till I put the empty bottle near him," said Rockley, and this was done.

Then the crowd of masked cadets left the den, leaving the door wide open behind them.



CHAPTER XXVIII

DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently. It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.

At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods. They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den. Soon the crowd was completely out of hearing.

It must be confessed that Dick felt lonely, and almost the first thing he did was to take a match from his pocket and strike it. Discovering a bit of candle on the table he lighted this also.

But little was to be seen outside of that which had already met his gaze. The hermit's den had been cleaned up around the table, on which rested half a dozen bottles, an empty cigar box, and several packs of cards.

"This must be the stuff those fellows bought in Oakville," thought the eldest Rover. "They have been using this cave for a regular club room. What a beastly crowd they are! And they really imagine they are having good times, too!"

As will be remembered, Dick had been given a trip on a rowboat before being brought into the den and he imagined that he was somewhere near the head of Bass Lake, how far from the camp he could not tell.

"Perhaps I'm near where Tom and the others met those snakes," he mused. "Ugh! I don't want to fall in with things like that. And how I am to get back to camp without a boat is more than I can settle."

Blowing out the bit of candle, he placed it in his pocket and left the den. On all sides were the thick bushes already described, and poor Dick knew not which way to turn. He listened once more, but hardly a sound broke the midnight silence.

"Might as well strike out as to stay here," he said. "I don't think they'll come back in very much of a hurry, and perhaps they won't come until morning."

Pushing his way through the bushes he at last reached a tiny stream that poured over the rocks. He followed the stream and after half an hour's hard walking reached the edge of the lake. He had journeyed directly away from the camp and was now in a spot that was lonely in the extreme.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the water at this point was very shallow and soon Dick was wading over to what he took to be the island upon which the encampment had been located. But as a matter of fact he was headed for the main shore of the lake, and soon he was tramping further away from the camp than ever. For once in his life, so far as his bump of locality was concerned, Dick was hopelessly mixed.

Dick traveled nearly a mile before he reached the conclusion that he was not on Pine Island or anywhere near it.

"I'm on the mainland, that's certain," he told himself. "I guess the best thing I can do is to wait for daylight before going further. I may only—Hullo, a light!"

Dick had emerged from a grove of trees and now saw a light streaming from the window of a cottage but a short distance away. The sight of this caused him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Some farmer's place, I suppose," he murmured. "Well, anything will do. I can get a place to sleep, and the farmer can testify to it that I haven't been drinking, as Lew Flapp and his cronies will want to prove."

A curtain was drawn over the window of the cottage, so that Dick could not see into the room. The cottage was small, with but a single doors and on this the youth rapped loudly.

The rapping was followed by a commotion inside of the cottage and Dick heard two persons leap to their feet.

"Who's there?" demanded a rough voice.

"A stranger," Dick answered. "I have lost my way in the darkness," and without waiting he tried the door, and finding it unlocked, opened it.

"Dick Rover!"

The cry came from one of the occupants of the room, a tall, awkward-looking young man, much tanned by exposure, and with a pair of dark and wicked-looking eyes.

"Great Scott!" gasped Dick, falling back a step. "Am I dreaming or is this really Dan Baxter?"

"Oh. I'm Dan Baxter right enough," answered the former bully of Putnam Hall.

"But—but I thought you were still on that island in the Pacific."

"You wanted to see me end my days there, didn't you?" sneered Dan Baxter.

Dick did not reply, for he was gazing at the other occupant of the room, a man with a short crop of hair and a short beard.

"And your father, too!" he murmured.

"Come in here," cried Arnold Baxter savagely and caught him by the arm. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," answered Dick, before he had stopped to think twice.

"Good enough. Come in," and Arnold Baxter continued to hold him.

"He may be fooling us, dad," put in Dan Baxter. "The officers of the law may be with him."

"Take a look around and see, Dan. I'll keep him here."

"Let me go!" cried Dick, trying to break away.

"Not much, Rover. You'll stay right where you are for the present," answered the older Baxter grimly.

Dan had slipped out and he made a thorough search before returning to the cottage. In the meantime Dick was forced to sit down on a bench in a corner, while Arnold Baxter stood over him with a stout club.

"This is getting interesting, to say the least," thought Dick. "I wish I hadn't come anywhere near the cottage."

"Nobody around," announced Dan Baxter, as he came in and closed and locked the door.

"Good," answered his father. He turned again to Dick. "Now, how comes it that you are wandering around here, Rover?" he went on.

"I was trying to find my way back to camp and lost my way in the woods."

"But your camp is on an island."

"I know it. I was carried off by some students who were hazing me. They put a bag over my head and took me in a boat, and I got mixed up.

"I hope they hazed you good," came from Dan Baxter with a malicious grin.

"Thank you, Dan, you always were a real friend," returned Dick, as coolly as he could.

"Oh, don't you come any of that game over me!" roared Dan Baxter. "I haven't forgotten the past, Dick Rover, and you'll find it out so before I get through with you. I was just hoping you or your precious brothers might drop into my arms."

"What are you and your father doing here?"

"That is my business," broke in Arnold Baxter.

"I don't see why you fellows can't turn over a new leaf," went on Dick earnestly.

"Oh, don't preach, Dick Rover," answered Dan Baxter. "You make me sick when you do that."

"I suppose you find this a good hiding place."

"It has been—up to now," said Arnold Baxter. "But since you have discovered us—" he did not finish.

"We'll make him pay for it," said Dan Baxter. "I've been waiting to square accounts for a long time."

"How did you escape from that island, Dan?" asked Dick curiously.

"A ship came along about a week after you left it."

"I see. And did you come right through to here?"

"That is my business, Dick Rover. But I came to help my father, I don't mind telling you that."

"Then you knew he had escaped from prison?"

"From the hospital, yes."

"And did you know he had robbed our house?"

"He took what belonged to him, Dick Rover. Your folks robbed him of that mine in the West."

"Well, I won't argue the point, Dan Baxter." Dick got up and moved toward the door. "I think I'll go."

"Will you!" cried both of the Baxters, in a breath, and seizing him they forced him back into the corner.

"Let us make him a prisoner," went on Dan Baxter, and this was speedily done by aid of a rope which the elder Baxter brought forth. Then Dick was thrown into a closet of an inner apartment and the door was locked upon him.



CHAPTER XXIX

TRUE HEROISM

"Well, one thing is certain, I am much worse off now than I was when in the hands of Lew Flapp's crowd," thought Dick dismally, after trying in vain to break the bonds that bound him.

The closet in which he was a prisoner was so small that he could scarcely turn himself. The door was a thick one, so to break it down was out of the question.

"Stop your row in there!" called out Dan Baxter presently. "If you don't, I'll give you something you won't want."

"How long are you going to keep me here?"

"If you wait long enough you'll find out," was the unsatisfactory answer.

"It won't do you any good to keep me a prisoner, Dan."

"Won't it? Perhaps you think I'm going to let you go so that you can get the officers to arrest my father," sneered the younger Baxter.

"They are bound to get him anyway, sooner or later."

"They'll never get him if they don't catch him this week."

"Why? Is he going to leave the country?"

"That's his business, not yours," said Dan Baxter, and walked away.

"It's too bad he turned up as he did," remarked Arnold Baxter, when he found himself alone with his son. "I thought I'd be safe here until I could slip over to Boston."

"When does that steamer sail for Cape Town, Africa, dad?"

"Tuesday or Wednesday of next week."

"Then all we can do is to keep Dick Rover a prisoner until that time."

"We can't do it, Dan. As soon as he is reported missing this whole vicinity will be searched."

"Do you think they'll find this cottage?"

"Perhaps, although so far I have not been disturbed."

"Tom and Sam Rover came pretty close to locating you, didn't they?"

"They came within half a mile of the spot. But I gave them the slip."

"I wish I could square up with all of the Rovers," went on Dan Baxter savagely. "They have caused me no end of trouble."

"Better leave them alone, Dan. Every time you try to do something you get your fingers burnt."

To this the son could not answer, for he knew that his father spoke the truth.

A long talk followed, and then Dan Baxter left, promising to return before noon of the next day. He was to proceed to a town about twelve miles away and there purchase for his father a new suit of clothing and a preparation for dyeing his hair and beard. With this disguise Arnold Baxter hoped to get away from the vicinity and reach Boston without being recognized.

So far the night had been clear, but now a storm was brewing. From a great distance came a rumble of thunder and occasionally a glimpse of lightning lit up the landscape.

"You'll have a bad journey of it," said Arnold Baxter to his son as the latter was leaving.

"Reckon I'll have to make the best of it," answered Dan. "But I've got used to such things, since I've been knocking around the ocean and elsewhere."

Left to himself, Arnold Baxter paced the floor of the cottage uneasily. Age was beginning to tell upon him and he was by no means the man he was when introduced to the Rovers years before.

"I wish I was out of it," he murmured to himself. "I'd give a good deal to be on the ocean this minute, bound for some place where I can make a fresh start."

The storm kept growing in violence until the cottage fairly shook from the fury of the wind. There was much thunder and lightning, with some crashing in the woods close at hand, that caused both Baxter and Dick to start in alarm.

Dick was doing his best to free himself and at last managed to get one hand loose.

He had already found that to attempt forcing the door was useless. Now he tried the walls of the closet and then the flooring and the ceiling.

He was much gratified to find that the boards of the ceiling were not fastened down. With a great effort he managed to raise himself and after a minute of hard work found himself in the tiny loft of the cottage. Here the patter of the rain was strong and the water was leaking in everywhere.

"I'll have to drop to the ground and run for it," he told himself, and crawled to where there was a tiny window just large enough to admit the passage of his body.

It was no easy matter to get down to the ground with one hand still fastened behind him, and Dick made rather slow work of it. The rain beat in at the window, and soon he was soaked to the skin.

Where to go next he did not know. To journey far in such a storm was entirely out of the question.

Dick had hardly gotten to the edge of the woods when a blinding flash of lightning and a ripping crash of thunder fairly lifted him from his feet.

"Oh!" he gasped, and staggered to a tree for support. "My, but that was close!"

It was not until a moment later that he realized what had occurred. The lightning had struck the cottage, ripping off a corner of the roof and descending into the room below. The structure was now a mass of flames.

"The cottage is on fire!" murmured the youth. "Wonder if the Baxters have been struck?"

The wind quickly drove the fire in all directions until the cottage was in flames almost from end to end.

Staggering from the effects of the shock, Dick drew closer to the building and then tried the door, to find it locked.

"Help!" came faintly, in Arnold Baxter's voice. "Help!"

"Open the door," returned Dick, forgetting that it was an enemy who was calling for assistance.

"I—I cannot. I—I am helpless!"

Again Dick tried the door, but without success. Then he leaped for the window. Some of the glass was broken, and with his naked fist he drove in the whole sash, and tore down the flapping curtain.

The sight which met his gaze filled him with horror. The room was on fire in several places and in a corner, near the chimney piece, rested Arnold Baxter, pinned down by a section of brick and stonework that had fallen. He had been hit in the head, and from the wound the blood was flowing.

"Rover, is that you?" he cried faintly. "Don't desert me!"

Without replying, Dick began to crawl in through the broken window. The air was filled with smoke and he could scarcely see what he was doing. The sparks, too, were flying in all directions and only the wetness of his garments kept them from catching fire.

He was soon at Arnold Baxter's side, and with his one free hand hurled the bricks and stones in all directions. As he worked the fire kept coming closer, until his face was fairly blistered by the conflagration.

At last the man was free. But he could not raise himself up, and when Dick did it Arnold Baxter fell a limp form in his arm. He had fainted.

Mustering up all the strength that remained to him, Dick dragged the unconscious man to the door. There was a bar to be flung aside and then Dick threw the barrier wide open. It was none too soon, for now the fire was swirling in all directions. Staggering beneath his burden the youth hurried into the open and then fell flat, with Arnold Baxter beside him.

"What a close call!" murmured Dick, when he was able to rise. He felt weak in the knees, and his hands and face smarted from the blistering received. He looked at Arnold Baxter. The man had not yet recovered and looked to be more dead than alive.

Dick remembered having crossed a brook but a short distance away, and to this he went and bathed his burns and brought some water back for Arnold Baxter. His other hand had now become free, so he could work to much better advantage.

"He has been seriously hurt, that is certain," thought the youth. "Perhaps he breathed in some of the flames. If he did that he may never get over it."

Left to itself the cottage burnt to the ground and then the falling rain put out the hissing embers. In the meantime Dick did what he could to restore Arnold Baxter to consciousness, and at last had the satisfaction of seeing the man open his eyes.

"Oh!" murmured the man. "The fire—"

"You are out of it," answered Dick soothingly.

"Did you—did you haul me out?"

"Yes."

"It was good of you to do it, Rover," said Arnold Baxter, and then he fainted once more.



CHAPTER XXX

TURNING A NEW LEAF—CONCLUSION

The night was a long one for Dick Rover and he was glad when the storm cleared away and the first streaks of dawn began to show themselves in the eastern sky.

Arnold Baxter had recovered consciousness, but was evidently in great pain, for he moaned almost constantly. Dick was willing to aid the sufferer, yet could do little or nothing.

"Tell me the way to our camp and I will get help," said Dick at last. And Arnold Baxter gave him the directions as best he could.

"I must have a doctor," whispered the man hoarsely. "If not, I'll surely die. And I don't want to die yet, Rover!"

As well as he was able, Dick set off for the lake shore and then began to move in the direction of Bass Island.

He had not gone very far when he heard somebody calling his name.

"Rover! Dick Rover!" was the cry. "Dick Rover!"

"It must be a searching party," he thought, and he was right. The party contained Tom and Sam, and Mr. Strong, and they said that two other parties were out, one headed by Captain Putnam and the other by an assistant.

"Where in the world have you been?" asked Tom. "We have been scared almost to death over your absence."

"It's a long story," answered Dick. "What I want just now is a doctor and a lot of salve. Just look at me, will you?"

"Blisters!" ejaculated Sam. "Where did you get those?"

"In a fire that nearly burnt Arnold Baxter to death. I want the doctor for him."

And then Dick had to tell the particulars of how he had run across the cottage in the woods and of what had followed.

"And Dan Baxter is here!" ejaculated Tom. "It doesn't seem possible."

"He ought to be locked up," put in Sam.

It was decided by Mr. Strong that Arnold Baxter should be removed to the camp on a stretcher, and four boys, including Sam and Tom, volunteered for the service. In the meantime Dick went to camp, to attend to his hurts, and a cadet was sent to Oakville for a doctor.

"Hullo, here comes Rover!" whispered Lew Flapp to Pender, as Dick appeared. "Wonder what sort of a story he will have to tell?"

"One thing is certain, we made a mess of our plans," muttered Pender.

"Perhaps Rover won't give us away," put in Rockley hopefully.

On returning to camp word had been sent to Captain Putnam that Dick Rover was at the den in a condition not fit to be seen.

Mr. Strong and another teacher had gone to the place mentioned in the anonymous communication only to find the den empty.

A general alarm was sent out, and the search for the missing captain of Company A was begun as recorded. Captain Putnam also began to investigate on his private account, with results that were as surprising as they were dismaying. He learned the several cadets had left camp early in the night and among them Ben Hurdy, Lew Flapp, Pender, and Jackson. Without delay he summoned Ben Hurdy to his private tent and made the young cadet undergo a strict cross-examination.

At first Hurdy would not talk, but soon he became frightened and broke down utterly. He told of the plot against Dick, and of how Flapp and the others had carried it out.

"I didn't want to go into it," he whined. "But Flapp said he would thrash me if I didn't do my share. They wanted to get square with Captain Rover because he had won at the athletic contests and at the drill."

"I see," said Captain Putnam grimly, and then he ordered Ben Hurdy to keep absolutely silent until called on to speak. "If you say a word now I'll dismiss you at once," he concluded.

When Dick arrived Captain Putnam saw to it that his blisters were dressed with care, and then he asked the eldest Rover to tell his whole story.

"I do not know as I can do that, Captain Putnam," said the young captain, blushing. "I don't care to become a tale-bearer."

"Did you leave camp of your own free will, Rover?"

"I did not, sir."

"You were carried away to be hazed, then?"

"Yes, sir; but I would prefer not to speak of that part of my adventures."

"Those who carried you off drugged you."

"How do you know that?" asked Dick, in surprise.

"Never mind that now, Rover. Did they drug you or not?"

"No, sir."

"What!"

"They tried to drug me, but I threw the liquor over my shoulder when they weren't looking."

"Oh, I see," and Captain Putnam smiled. "They tried to trick you and you ended by tricking them, is that it?"

"That's about the size of it, sir. They thought I was in a stupor when they left me, but as soon as they were gone I began to shift for myself. But I don't understand how you know about this, Captain Putnam."

"One of the party to this outrage has confessed, so I know all about it, Rover. The leader, I believe, was Lew Flapp, and his main supporters were Pender, Rockley, and Jackson."

To this Dick did not say a word.

"I know you would speak if I were accusing anybody wrongly, Rover. In one way I can appreciate your silence. But this affair was carried too far. It was not an ordinary hazing. The plot was one to blast your honest name and bring you into disgrace. Such things cannot be permitted at any school of which I am the head. I will hear the rest of your strange tale."

In as few words as possible Dick told how he had wandered around until he had reached the cottage, and what had happened afterward.

"It was assuredly a remarkable adventure," said Captain Putnam. "I thought I had about seen the last of Daniel Baxter."

"Perhaps Dan Baxter will keep shady when he finds out what has happened."

"Perhaps. And you think Arnold Baxter is in a bad way?"

"Yes, sir. He came pretty close to being burnt up."

"We will do our best for him, and notify the authorities without delay."

An hour later the disabled man was brought into camp and the doctor came to attend him.

Under the physician's directions Arnold Baxter was made fairly comfortable in one of the tents of the camp.

"He is in a bad way," said the doctor. "He will probably recover, but it will take weeks and perhaps months."

Arnold Baxter asked for Dick and the eldest Rover went in to see him.

"I—I want to thank you for what you did, Rover," said the criminal in a low voice. "It—it was noble, very noble. I shan't forget it."

"Mr. Baxter, why don't you try to turn over a new leaf?" questioned Dick. "Haven't you found out that it doesn't pay to be bad?"

"Yes, I have found it out, and the lesson has been dearly bought," said Arnold Baxter with a sigh. "In the future I shall try to—to do better. Here, I want you to give these to your father, and tell him I—I am sorry that I visited your house some time ago," went on the disabled man.

He gave Dick an envelope containing some pawn tickets which called for the things stolen from the Rover homestead, and also a pocketbook with some money in it.

"That is all I have left of the cash," he said. "I'm sorry I haven't every cent of it. Tell him he can do as he pleases about me. I deserve no pity."

"I think he'd like to see you turn over a new leaf, too. He hates to see people on the downward path, Mr. Baxter."

"You are a good boy, Dick Rover. I am sorry that my son Dan isn't like you. Has he been caught yet?"

"I believe not."

"If he is caught, let me know," concluded Arnold Baxter, and there the talk ended.

"I imagine he really intends to turn over a new leaf," said Dick to Tom and Sam, a little later.

"Hope he does," replied Tom.

"So do I," added Sam.



Let me add a few words more and then bring this story of life in camp to a conclusion.

On the day following Dick's return to camp Captain Putnam summoned Lew Flapp, Pender, Rockley, and Jackson before him.

"I presume you know why I have sent for you," said the captain briefly. "Since the disappearance of Captain Rover I have been making an investigation. Rover himself would not talk, but others have spoken, and Rover has not denied the truth. All of you have been guilty of such serious misconduct that to overlook it would be almost criminal on my part."

"What have I done?" asked Lew Flapp brazenly.

"You have earned your dismissal from Putnam Hall, Flapp, and you leave this camp as soon as arrangements can be made."

"Going to fire me out, eh?"

"You are dismissed. I will not allow such a boy as you to mingle longer with the rest of my pupils."

"What are you going to do with the others? I wasn't to blame alone."

"Pender, Rockley, and Jackson shall go, too. The others, including Hurdy, shall have another chance, for I believe they were dragged into the affair unwillingly by you and your particular cronies."

"If we have got to go, don't let's listen to any more gas," growled Rockley, and stalked away with a very white face, followed by Flapp. Pender and Jackson pleaded for another chance, but Captain Putnam would not listen, and in the end the evil-minded cadets had to leave the school, never to return.

"Putnam Hall is well rid of that crowd," said Songbird Powell, and the majority of the students agreed with him.

Munro Staton, the local constable, was much chagrined to think that he had not had a hand in finding Arnold Baxter, and he at once set out to locate Dan. But Dan Baxter knew enough to leave the vicinity, and that was the last heard of him for some time.

Through the pawn tickets given to Dick, Mr. Anderson Rover recovered the spoons, napkin rings and other things taken from the homestead by Arnold Baxter. Mr. Rover visited Baxter before the latter was returned to the hospital from which he had escaped.

"I believe the man really intends to reform," said Anderson Rover afterwards. "But he is in a bad condition physically and may die before his term of imprisonment is at an end."

"I hope he lives," said Sam. "I'd like to see him lead an upright, honest life."

"I don't think we'll be bothered much with Dan Baxter after this," said Tom, but he was mistaken, Dan Baxter bothered them a great deal, and so did Lew Flapp, and how will be told in the next volume of this series, to be entitled, "The Rover Boys on the River; Or, The Search for the Missing Houseboat," in which we shall meet our old friends in a series of adventures as interesting as those already related.

As was the custom at Putnam Hall the encampment came to an end on the Fourth of July. This was a gala day for the cadets and they were allowed to invite both friends and relatives to the affair.

The Rover boys had the Statons over and also had their father and their Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha participate.

"Never saw such a time in my life!" declared Aunt Martha. "Music and marching, and such fireworks! And such a spread out under the trees! No wonder our boys like to go to Putnam Hall."

"It's a good place for them," came from the father of the boys. "It is making good men of them."

After the fireworks big bonfires were lit, and the cadets were allowed to do pretty much as they pleased. As they gathered around the largest of the fires all joined hands in a big circle, and it was Tom who started the Putnam Hall cheer:

"Zip, boom, bang! Ding, dong! Ding, dong! Boom, bang, bang! Hurrah for Putnam Hall!"

"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" came from all sides; and here let us say good-by.

THE END