Edward Stratemeyer

“ Our boat will get there first!" sang out Alice.
"You can't beat us!" came from Annie.
"He crows best who crows last," cried Ruth.
"Right you are!" came pantingly from Jack; and then, as he saw the look of encouragement in Ruth's face, he redoubled his efforts. Fred did the same, and when they came into plain view of the tiny dock at the end of Foxtail Island their boat was two full lengths ahead of the other.
"Hi you! What kind of a race is this, anyhow?" shouted out Andy, gaily. "Why don't you keep side by side and be sociable?"
"Sour grapes!" roared Fred. "Here is where we win!" ”

“ On this trip, in speaking about the excitement at the moving picture theater, Randy chanced to mention Jennie Mason's name.
"Jennie is a nice girl," answered Annie Larkins, to whom he was speaking, "but she does some things that I do not approve of. Do you know a cadet at your Hall named Napoleon Martell—I think they call him Nappy for short?"
"Do we know him!" exclaimed Randy. "I should say we did!"
"Oh! is that so?" Annie looked at him searchingly. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"No; I can't say that he is. To tell you the truth, he doesn't like us at all." ”

“ They were rushing along as fast as their handbaggage would permit, when they came up side by side with three other lads also bound for the stage.
"Look out there!" cried Jack as one of the strangers leaped into a puddle of water, splashing the mud right and left.
"Look out yourself!" cried the other youth, a big lad, much larger than any of the others.
"That's Slugger Brown—the bully I was telling you about," explained Spouter as he continued to run.
Directly behind Slugger Brown came another youth, loudly dressed in a checkered suit and a soft checkered hat to match. ”

“ A good deal of this talk drifted to the ears of the Rover twins and hurt them not a little. But they were in no position to combat what was said.
"Of course we know Jack and Fred are innocent," remarked Randy to his brother. "But in a court of law it is one thing to know it and quite another thing to prove it."
"Yet I've always heard it said that a man was innocent until he was proved guilty," asserted Andy.
"Very true. Just the same, many a man has been convicted on what they call circumstantial evidence; and evidently the circumstantial evidence against Jack and Fred is pretty strong." ”

“ One day Dick broached this subject to his offspring. At once young Jack set up a wild remonstrance.
"Oh, Dad! don't take me away from Andy and Randy and Fred!" he pleaded. "Why, we are just like brothers! I wouldn't know how to get along without 'em."
"But I'm afraid Andy and Randy are leading you into bad habits," returned Dick Rover.
"I don't think so, Dad. Anyway, I've heard folks say that Andy and Randy are no worse than their father used to be—and you never wanted to be separated from Uncle Tom, did you?" ”

“ Some of the tricks had been played on Jack and Fred, and they, of course, had done their best to retaliate, and this had, on more than one occasion, brought forth a forceful, but good-natured, pitched battle, and the fathers and the others present had had all they could do to hold the boys in check.
"I never saw such boys," was Mary Rover's comment to her brother Fred. "Why can't you behave yourselves just as Martha and I do?"
"Oh, girls never have any good times," answered Fred. "They just sit around and primp up and read, and do things like that." ”

“ With the bonfires blazing high, throwing a lurid glare over the campus and parade grounds, the cadets sang and danced and then started an impromptu parade which took them around the various buildings of the school. Many carried torches, while four had drums and bugles. There was a good deal of horseplay, and also something in the way of hazing.
"Here is where we get back at Codfish for some of his meanness!" cried Randy, as he and some of the others caught the sneak. ”

“ With his friends cheering lustily, Jack sped on, dodging many straight-arm tackles, and skipping from right to left and then back again in order to avoid the numerous players who seemed to confront him as if by magic. Then somebody appeared on his left, and the next moment he went down with a thud, not knowing where he had landed.
"It's a touchdown!" was the cry, and then the Colby Hall followers went wild with delight, while Columbus Academy was mute. The girls stood up in the grandstand and waved their banners gaily. ”

“ Their sporting blood, aroused by the game already brought down, urged Jack and Fred forward, and almost before they knew it they had covered a long distance. They presently came to another clearing, bordering a good-sized pond. Here they stirred up half a dozen rabbits and also some squirrels, and each succeeded in bringing down more than half the game sighted.
"Say, this is the finest sport ever!" declared Fred, as he looked at his game with deep satisfaction. "Won't the others envy us when we get back to the Hall with these!"
"It's sport enough for us," returned Jack. ”

“ I'm afraid Andy and Randy are in for it now," whispered Fred to Jack.
"Well, Randy certainly had no right to put those mice in the pantry," answered his cousin. "Just the same, I hope Uncle Tom isn't too severe with 'em."
"I don't see why Andy should be punished for this."
"Oh, they always stick together. You know that as well as I do."
"So I do. Isn't it wonderful how each is willing to share the blame with the other?" added Fred, with deep admiration. ”

“ Just think what would have happened if that target had been a deer, or even a partridge!"
"A deer or a partridge isn't apt to stand still," returned Randy. "If you want to become expert as a hunting shot, you'll have to practise at a swinging target."
"Well, that's to come later, so Captain Dale said," was the answer.
"Say, let's go out hunting some day when the season opens!" cried Jack. "I'd like first rate to bag something, even if it were only a few rabbits."
"That's the talk!" answered Fred, quickly. "As soon as the hunting season opens let's go out, by all means." ”

“ In that game with Hixley High last Fall, the left tackle said, if you will remember, that you ought to be handed over to the police. Now Mr. Crews says—and I agree with him—that we've got to play in a clean-cut fashion, free from all needless brutality."
"Bah! I won't listen to you," howled Slugger Brown. "You're in with those Rovers, and that whole crowd is down on me just because I am chummy with Nappy Martell. I won't stand for it! If I can't play on the regular team, I won't play at all!" ”

“ Then it was found that both a Columbus Academy player and a Colby Hall youth would have to be taken out of the game.
"Now then, Fred, here's your chance," said Gif, coming up to the youngest Rover. "I'm going to put you in, and I want you to help us win the game."
"Win it is!" cried Fred, his eyes shining eagerly. "We'll either win or we'll die!"
When the whistle blew for the final quarter, all of the players who trooped on the field had a do-or-die expression on their faces. ”

“ It was no easy matter for Jack and Fred to gain the desired permission, but when Colonel Colby heard from Captain Dale what good shots the boys had proved to be, he said they might go out, along with Frank Newberry and some of the others.
"But I want you to be very careful," said the colonel impressively. "I wouldn't have an accident happen to you for the world. Don't fire a charge until you are absolutely sure of what you're firing at. Never point your gun at anybody else; and be very careful how you handle your weapon in climbing a fence or leaping over rocks or brushwood." ”

“ The twins were a bit envious over the prospects for their cousins, but they wished Jack and Fred the best of luck. All of the cadets who were to go out had lessons in the morning, but they departed directly after dinner, and were told that they could remain out as long as they pleased.
"Now, don't forget to bring back a deer or a bear," cried Andy.
"And if you can, bag a buffalo or a hippopotamus," added his twin.
"We'll be lucky if we bag some rabbits and a squirrel or two or some woodcock," answered Jack. "Big game doesn't exist around here any more. The farms are too thick." ”

“ He turned to face one of his twins. "Randy, I ought to give you a thrashing for wetting me like this."
"Don't Fred get half the thrashing?" questioned Randy Rover, quizzically, for he could readily see that his parent was not as angry as his words seemed to imply. "I don't like to be selfish, you know. He can have more than his share if he wants it."
"You'll take your own thrashings—I don't want 'em," broke in his cousin Fred quickly.
"Jack," cried Dick Rover, turning to his son, "turn that water off at once." ”

“ And so, after several communications had passed between the Rovers and Colonel Lawrence Colby, it was settled that the boys should be enlisted as cadets at Colby Hall.
"Cease firing!" cried Jack, when there came a lull in the pillow fight. "The first thing you know somebody will come in here and we'll be in hot water again." The boys were up in Jack's bedroom, and all of their mothers were downstairs, talking over the question of the wardrobes the lads were to take along to school.
"All right, Commodore," answered Andy, gaily. "Out of the trenches, boys; the war is over!" ”

“ I shouldn't think he'd want anything to eat for a month," whispered Fred to Spouter.
"Don't you believe a word of what Fatty says about cutting down on his food," returned the other in a low voice. "He eats just as much as anyone. That's what makes him so fat."
Possessed of the full appetites of growing boys, the Rovers were not loth to follow the fat youth and Spouter into the dining car, which, to their surprise, was almost full.
"We'll have to have a table for four and another table for two," remarked Jack to the head waiter. "Do you think you can find that many places?" ”

“ He is the son of Nelson Martell, one of our rivals in business, a man who occupies the floor above us in this building."
"I didn't know Nappy was much of a scrapper," was Sam Rover's comment. "I thought he was too much of a dude to fight."
"He certainly is a dude as far as appearances go," answered Jack; "but he has the manner of a brute. I wish now I'd had the chance to give him a good licking," he went on heartily.
"You had better go slow when it comes to fighting," returned his uncle. "A fight seldom settles anything." ”

“ We aimed the water at the hedge, and we didn't see Ness and Aleck until they let out a yell."
"But I saw two of you playing the water in that direction," cried Dick Rover. "You were one of them, Jack."
"Oh, well, Dad, what was the harm after they were all wet?" pleaded his son. "They'd have to change their clothing anyway."
"That's just it," added Andy Rover quickly, with his eyes twinkling from merriment. "A little more water won't hurt a person when he's already soaked. ”

“ You see, when a fellow gets as mad as Martell was he's liable to do almost anything." And that was all Bart White had had to relate concerning the affair.
So far, the Rover boys had not had anything to do with Asa Lemm. They had met the sharp-faced professor once in the hallway and he had stared at them in a fashion which made Andy shiver.
"He's got it in for me all right!" had been the declaration of the fun-loving youth.
"I guess Gif was right," had been Jack's comment. "He'll have it in for us the whole term. Too bad! I'd rather be friendly with every one than have any enemies." ”

“ On the springs rested a shotgun.
"And I'll bet the other shotgun is in the other bed!" cried Andy, and he and the professor made an investigation. The fun-loving Rover's surmise was correct.
"These are guns belonging to the Hall, too!" cried Ned, pointing out the mark of the school on the stocks. "They must belong down in the gun rack, just as Slugger and Martell said."
"Bring those guns along, boys, and we'll go directly to Colonel Colby's office," said Professor Brice; and the cadets lost no time in doing as he directed. ”

“ When the boys were ready to leave, Professor Asa Lemm and his companion were still at their table discussing the particulars of a coming lawsuit.
"I'll give 'em something to remember us by anyhow," whispered Andy to the chums when the party had arisen to leave the dining car; and before any of the others could stop him he took up the stalks of celery and on passing Asa Lemm dropped them in the professor's side pocket, leaving the tops dangling outside.
"Gee! but you're some funny boy," chuckled Fatty, gazing at Andy in admiration. "I wish I could think of things like that to do." ”

“ Didn't I catch you trying to make a date with that Ruth Stevenson?"
"Oh, say, Fred! your ears are too big for your head," retorted Jack, growing red, while Andy and Randy looked at each other suggestively. ”

“ I suppose that fellow told you all about me?" and Nappy pointed to Jack.
"What's the use of quarreling about a little thing like a tumble in the dirt?" panted Fatty, who was almost out of breath because of his run towards the auto-stage. "Come on! let's get to the Hall and see who is there."
"I'm not anxious to fight," answered Fred, readily; "but I don't like this fellow's talk."
"I'll talk as I please," blustered Martell. "And I'll fight, too, if I want to."
"That's the talk, Nappy!" came from Slugger Brown. "Don't let any new boys lord it over you. If you want to fight, go ahead." ”

“ Andy and Randy, as they were always called for short, were exceedingly bright, each taking after his father, Andy always saying things that were more or less funny and Randy playing tricks whenever he got the chance. They were truly chips off the old block, and Tom knew it, although outwardly he professed to be ignorant of the fact.
"Those twins will be some boys when they grow up," was old Anderson Rover's comment, when the lads were less than five years old. "They're just as full of fun now as Tom ever dared to be." ”

“ He had been walking up and down the room trying to make up his mind what they might do to have some fun. "I wonder if the girls over at Clearwater Hall wouldn't lend us some dresses and some girls' hats for the occasion."
"They might if we agreed to lend them some of our suits in exchange."
"Well, we could do that easily enough," answered Fred. "We hardly ever have a chance to wear anything these days but our uniforms."
"What do you want to do, Andy—dress up as a girl?" questioned Jack.
"That's it. We might have dead loads of fun." ”