Edward Stratemeyer

“ In a twinkle, before either could use his pistol, he was hurled flat and made a prisoner.
"Bind them, men," ordered Villaire sternly. "And bind them well, so that escape is impossible."
"Run for the house, Aleck!" yelled, out Dick, before those on top of him could choke him off. "Save Tom and Sam!
"I will!" came from the faithful black. And off he sped at top speed, with three or four of Captain Villaire's party after him. Cujo also went to the house, bewildered by what was going on and hardly knowing how to turn.
Randolph Rover fought desperately and so did Dick. ”

“ At this talk Randolph Rover was somewhat taken aback. "All!" he cried. "Why, what would three boys do in the heart of Africa?"
"Look for father!" cried Tom. "I shan't stay behind—you can't make me!" he went on half defiantly.
"We have been through lots of adventures, uncle, you know that," came from Sam. "We are not afraid."
"But the danger, boys—" began the uncle.
"What danger wouldn't we face for father's sake!" said Tom. "I'd go through fire and water for him."
"You had better let us all go," said Dick. ”

“ Tom could scarcely keep from laughing at the sight, and a snicker or two could be heard coming from where Frank, Dick, and the others were concealed behind the bushes. But the German youth was too terrorized to notice anything but that awful red man before him, with his hideous war-paint of blue and yellow.
"Dutcha boy dance for Big Wolf," went on Tom. "Dance! Dance or Big Wolf shoot!" And the fun-loving Rover set the pace in a mad, caper that would have done credit to a Zulu.
"I can't vos dance!" ”

“ I am sick and weak in body, and it may be that I will soon die. Yet I beg of you to do what you can for me. If I die, I trust you to be a father to my dear boys, Dick, Tom, and Sam, and ask Martha for me to be a mother to them. ”

“ There are some moments in one's life that seem hours, and the present fraction of time was of that sort to poor Tom. He had a vision of a terrific smash-up, and of Dick and Sam picking up his lifeless remains from the railroad tracks. "I'm a goner!" he muttered, and then, just before the tracks were reached, he made one wild, desperate leap in the direction of a number of bushes skirting the woods. ”

“ The steamer pitched from side to side and more than one wave broke over her decks.
"This is the worse storm I ever saw," remarked Dick, as he held fast to a chair in the cabin. "They won't be able to set any table for dinner today."
"Dinner!" came from Sam, with a groan.
"Who wants any dinner, when a fellow feels as if he was going to be turned inside out!" So far none of the boys had suffered from seasickness, but now poor Sam was catching it, and the youngest Rover felt thoroughly miserable. ”

“ With the football came kite-flying, and wonderful indeed were some of the kites which the boys manufactured.
"I can tell you, if a fellow had time he could reduce kite-flying to a regular science," said Dick.
"Oh, Dick, don't give us any more science!" cried Sam. "We get enough of science from, Uncle Randolph, with his scientific farming, fowl-raising, and the like. I would just as lief fly an old-fashioned kite as anything." ”

“ They dropped anchor among a score of other vessels; and the long ocean trip became a thing of the past.
"I'm all ready to go ashore," said Tom.
"My, but won't it feel good to put foot on land again!"
"Indeed it will!" cried Dick. "The ocean is all well enough, but a fellow doesn't want too much of it."
"And yet I heard one of the French sailors say that he hated the land," put in Sam. "He hadn't set foot on shore for three years. When they reach port he always remains on deck duty until they leave again."
Mortimer Blaze went ashore at once, after bidding all of the party a hearty good-by. ”

“ We ought to recapture him."
"That's the talk," added Sam. "I wish my wrist wasn't so sore—I'd go after him."
"There's a boat below here," said Dick.
"Let's put out in that."
"He may—may shoot at you," faltered Dora. "You know how wicked he can be at times."
"Indeed I do know," answered Dick. "But he ought to be handed over to the authorities. It is a crime to let him go free."
"Hi, Baxter. Come over here; we want to talk to you!" yelled Tom.
"Not much!" growled the former bully of Putnam Hall.
"You had better come," said Sam. "If you don't come we'll bring you." ”

“ The straps were not fastened very tightly, so that the man was sure to gain his liberty sooner or later. "If we didn't come back and he was too tight he might starve to death," said Tom.
"Not but wot he deserves to starve," said Aleck, with a scowl at the crestfallen prisoner.
At the foot of the cliff all was as dark and silent as a tomb. "We go slow now, or maybe take a big tumble," cautioned Cujo. "Perhaps him better if me climb up first," and he began the dangerous ascent of the cliff by means of the numerous vines already mentioned. ”

“ Taking the Rovers into one of the apartments of the dilapidated building they tied each to the logs of the walls, one several yards from the other.
"Now you must wait until Captain Villaire returns," said the leader of the party in French. "He will be here before daylight."
"But what does this mean?" demanded Randolph Rover.
"He will tell you what it means," grinned the brigand, and walked away to another part of the hut, which was built in a long, rambling fashion, and contained a dozen or more divisions.
"We are in a pickle," remarked Dick dismally. ”

“ The water was dashed over Toni's face, and presently he gave a little gasp.
"Oh my! what struck me?" he murmured, and then tried to sit up, but for the minute the effort was a failure.
"The pistol exploded," said Frank. "A piece must have hit you on the head," and he pointed at a nasty scalp wound from which the flow of blood emanated.
As well as it could be done, Frank and Dick bound up Tom's head with a handkerchief, and presently the fun-loving lad declared himself about as well as ever, "Only a bit light-headed," as he added. ”

“ Randolph Rover raised his voice. "Cujo! Cujo! They have discovered us! Take care that they do not spear you."
No reply came back to this call, which was several times repeated. Then came a crash, as a big stone was hurled down, to split into a score of pieces on the rock which sheltered them.
"They mean to dislodge us," said Dick. "If they would only show themselves—"
He stopped, for he had seen one of the Bumwos peering over a mass of short brush directly over the cave entrance. Taking hasty aim with his pistol be fired.
A yell of pain followed, proving that the African had been hit. ”

“ His own kite and Fred's were side by side and for a long time it looked as if neither would mount above the other.
"Run her up, Fred! You can win if you try!" cried several of the cadets.
"Play out a bit more, Sam; you haven't given your kite all the slack she wants," said others. So the talk ran on, while each contestant did the best to make his kite mount higher. In the meantime the wind kept increasing in violence, making each kite pull harder than ever.
"It's a dandy for flying," panted Tom, who was holding his kite with all the strength he possessed. ”

“ But Sam and Dick had had enough of it, and, along with Tom, they took a stroll along the lake front with Dora Stanhope and Grace and Nellie. Of course both boys and girls talked a whole lot of nonsense, yet all enjoyed the walk very much.
"This is the spot where they abducted me," shivered Dora, as they came to the old boathouse. "Oh, what a dreadful time that was, to be sure!"
"I don't believe our enemies will bother you any more, Dora," said Dick. "It's not likely that old Crabtree Will try the same game twice; and Mumps has really turned over a new leaf and gone to work for a living." ”

“ THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE CHAPTER I UNPLEASANT NEWS "Back to Putnam Hall again, boys! Hurrah!"
"Yes, back again, Tom, and glad of it," returned Dick Rover. "I can tell you, the academy is getting to be a regular second home."
"Right you are, Dick," came from Sam Rover, the youngest of the three brothers. "I'd rather be here than up to the farm, even if Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha are kind and considerate. The farm is so slow—"
"While here we have our full share of adventures and more," finished Tom. ”

“ Then, in a mad, blind fashion, the snake coiled itself upon Aleck's foot, and began, with lightning-like rapidity, to encircle the colored man's body.
"Help!" shrieked Aleck, trying to pull the snake off with his hands. "Help! or Ise a dead man, shuah!"
"Catch him by the neck, Aleck!" ejaculated Tom, and brought out his own pistol. Watching his chance, he pulled the trigger twice, sending both bullets straight through the reptile's body. Then Sam fired again, and the mangled head fell to the ground. ”

“ But they will take care of themselves, I feel that more and more every day," concluded Randolph Rover; and there, for the time being, the subject was dropped.
"I wonder what has become of old Josiah Crabtree?" remarked Dick Rover, as he and his brothers walked around the parade ground to inspect several improvement which Captain Putnam had caused to be made.
"I'm sure I can't guess," answered Tom.
"Like as not he became scared to death. I suppose you'll be satisfied if he keeps away from Dora and her mother in the future?"
"Yes; I never want to set eyes on him again, Tom. ”

“ Should they tell the captain of the strange figure Sam had seen in the hallway?
"I'll tell him, and shoulder the blame, if you fellows are willing," said Sam, after a long discussion. "Fun is one thing, and shielding a thief is another."
"But what can you tell?" asked Fred. "You do not know that that person, was the thief."
"More than likely he was," came from Dick.
"And if he was, who was he?" went on Fred. "If you tell Captain
Putnam you'll simply get us all into trouble."
"I vote that Sam makes a clean breast of it," said Frank, and Larry said the same. ”

“ It was no easy matter to obtain the good things required, and the boys ran the risk of being discovered by George Strong and punished; but by midnight everything was ready, and soon eating was "in full blast," to use Sam's way of expressing it.
A few of the boys from the other dormitories had been invited, and the boys took turns in standing out in the hall on guard.
"You see," explained Tom, "Mr. Strong may come in, and I won't be able to play nightmare again, as I did last year."
"Say, but that was a prime joke," laughed Frank.
"And Mumps!" cried Larry. ”

“ Later on Tom persuaded Dick to ask Hans if he would not walk down to Cedarville for him, to buy him a baseball. Eager to be accommodating, the German youth received the necessary permission to leave the academy acres and hurried off at the full speed of his sturdy legs.
"Now for some fun!" cried Tom, and ran off for the Indian suit and the face paints. These he took down to the bam and set to work to transform himself into a wild-looking red man.
"You're a lively one!" grinned Peleg Snuggers, who stood watching him. "We never had such a lad as you before Master Thomas." ”

“ All of the party watched over the colored man with tender care, and feeling that he could be in no better hands the captain left him entirely in his friends' charge. "When he comes to his senses you can let me know," he said.
Dick was watching by Pop's side, and Tom was at the foot of the berth, when the colored man opened his eyes. As they rested on first one Rover and then the other he stared in utter astonishment.
"My gracious sakes alive!" he gasped. "Am I dreamin', or am I back to Putnam Hall again?"
"Neither, Aleck," replied Dick. "You are safe on board an ocean steamer." ”

“ In the former volumes I told you much of the doings of Dick, Tom, and Sam at Putnam Hall and during a remarkable chase on the Atlantic Ocean. In the present story the scene is shifted from the military academy, where the boys are cadets, to the wilds of Africa, whither the lads with their uncle have gone to look for Anderson Rover, the boys' father, who had disappeared many years before. A remarkable message from the sea causes the party to leave this country, and they journey to Africa, little dreaming of all the stirring adventures which await them in the heart of the Dark Continent. ”

“ Probably we can learn all about it when we reach Boma, the capital of the Congo Free State."
"The Congo is a pretty big stream, isn't it?" questioned Sam.
"Very large indeed. At its mouth it is about ten miles wide, and it is from twelve to fourteen hundred miles long. Stanley traced its course after an expedition in which he fought over thirty battles with the natives."
"They must be fearfully savage."
"Those in the interior are. The natives that live close to the ocean are peaceable enough, so I have been told."
"And how are we going to get there?" asked Tom. ”

“ African chief, talking in fairly good English.
"We do not wish to quarrel with you, King Susko; but you will find it best for you if you will grant us an interview," went on Randolph Rover.
"The white man must go away from this mountain. I will not talk with him," replied the African angrily.
"Do you know why we are here?"
"To rob the Bumwos of their gold."
"No; we are looking for a lost man, one who came to this country years ago and one who was your prisoner—"
"The white man is no longer here—he went home long time ago."
"We do not believe you!" cried Tom. ”

“ After this several weeks passed without anything of special interest occurring outside of a stirring baseball match with a club from Ithaca, which Putnam Hall won by a score of six to three. In this game Dick made a much-needed home run, thus covering himself with glory.
"The Rovers are out of sight!" was Larry's comment. "Whatever they do they do well."
"And they hang together like links of a chain," added Fred. "The friend of one is the friend of all, and the same can be said of an enemy." ”