Rover

“ The new trousers had just been painfully finished, in those days when sewing was sewing, and not a mere jig on a sewing-machine; but Rover, so far from being abashed or ashamed, displayed an impish glee in his performance, bounding and leaping hither and thither with his trophy in his mouth, now growling and mangling it, and shaking it at us in elfish triumph as we chased him hither and thither,—over the wood-pile, into the wood-house, through the barn, out of the stable door,—vowing all sorts of dreadful punishments when we caught him. ”

“ I’ve named him Rover; and don’t you think he knows when the tide is down just as well as I do; then he goes to the beach, and digs clams with his nose; he never goes a clamming at high water. When I am fishing for flounders he will sit by me till I pull up a fish, and then he will swallow it in no time; sometimes I say, ‘Rover, you can’t have that; it is for the house;’ and he will look so wishful I have to give it to him.”
“I never heard of such a pig before, Charlie; I expect you will learn him to play with sea ducks.” ”

“ No, Rover has a soul above that. You may make him your friend, but he scorns to be a pet. No one can see him without admiring him, and no one can know him without loving him. He is as regularly inquired after as any other member of the family; for who that has ever known Rover can forget him? He has an instinctive perception of his master's friends, to whom he metes out his caresses in the proportion of their attachment to the chief object of his affections. ”

“ Phi scrambled to the surface of a gliding cake, then, having raced across its surface, leaped a narrow chasm, to race on again. Such an obstacle race had never before been entered into by a boy and a dog. Rover, seeming to have regained some of the spirit of his younger days, followed well. Once, with a dismal howl, he fell into a crevice, but before an ice-pan could rear up and crush him, a strong arm dragged him free. ”

“ But Rover, lying under the pine tree in the front yard, heard the commotion and came running like the wind past Mrs. Hill.
He jumped at the fierce hawk and snapped at him with his sharp white teeth, just as the hawk was swooping to pick up Little Yellow Chick.
When Mr. Hawk heard the barking and saw Rover dash towards him he forgot about wanting to eat Little Yellow Chick and flew away as fast as he could. ”

“ Rover is a small, black, lop-eared dog, about half the size of Shaver, who looks upon Rover as an inconsequent attachment, and though he thinks that Rover is of small assistance, he takes upon himself the responsibility of making this little working mate of his keep busy when in harness. Tad and Eric, the rear dogs, are the largest and heaviest of the pack, and perhaps the best haulers. Their traces are never slack, and they attend strictly to business. ”

“ One day when he came home from the hills he said: "We must not let Rover be idle all his life. He must learn to do something useful. I shall take him to the hills in the morning and teach him to look after the sheep. He will be a great help to me, and I will be a good master to him."
So the next morning Rover started off with his master, looking very proud and happy. At first it was hard to make the dog take care of the sheep in the right way. ”

“ Black fellows must be barked at, and their dogs chased to the uttermost limits of the habitable globe. Such were the chief points of the creed subscribed to by Sam's dog Rover.
All the love that may be between dog and man, and man and dog, existed between Sam and Rover. Never a fresh cheery morning when the boy arose with the consciousness of another happy day before him, but that the dog was waiting for him as he stepped from his window into clear morning air. Never a walk in the forest, but that Rover was his merry companion. ”

“ Meanwhile at the farm Rover was having a good nap under the apple tree.
Suddenly he was awakened by the sound of wheels on the gravel drive. Up he jumped and ran up the driveway to welcome the family home.
But what was his surprise to see a strange horse and carriage and strange people in the carriage!
"Strangers must not come into this yard when the folks are away," thought Rover. So he ran toward them, growling and barking. ”

“ When we were driving out along the clean sandy roads, among the piny groves of Maine, it was half our enjoyment to see Rover, with ears and tail wild and flying with excitement and enjoyment, bounding and barking, now on this side the carriage, now on that,—now darting through the woods straight as an arrow, in his leaps after birds or squirrels, and anon returning to trot obediently by the carriage, and, wagging his tail, to ask applause for his performances. ”

“ Rover's a dog that's got an awful lot o' pride. He went right off out behind the long barn the last time, and would n't come in for nobody when they called him to supper till I went out myself and made it up with him. No; he can't see very well now, Rover can't."
"He 's heavy, too; he 's got too unwieldy to tackle a smart coon, I expect, even if he could do the tall runnin'," said John York, with sympathy. "They have to get a master grip with their teeth through a coon's thick pelt this time o' year. No; the young folks gets all the good chances after a while;" ”

“ The hundreds of columns printed about him in the papers all over the land, the scores of detectives on the trail of the kidnapers, the thousands of earnest persons in all walks of life who had volunteered to do all in their power to help bring him back—all this he would have found, had he known it, a matter for surprise and great bewilderment. For the Red Rover was, above all, a very humble and modest young man who loved doing things for their own sake, and who thought little of honor or great reward. ”

“ Now, however, as Jack Rover and his uncle approached, there was an ominous silence, the spinning wheels of the machine coming to a sudden stop.
“There is one man!” cried the youthful major, and pointed into some bushes where the legs of an individual were floundering around in the air. A few seconds later the man righted himself and struggled to a nearby tree, dazed and bewildered.
“There is another fellow—under the auto!” came from Sam Rover. “Come on! Let us get him out before the machine has a chance to settle down on him.” ”

“ From the moment I took the young bird in my hand, all my scruples were gone, and after that it was one of my greatest pleasures to rob birds' nests, and to kill the older birds with stones. My dog Rover, who is no doubt as well remembered as myself, was given me by Mr. Acres, and I was, moreover, encouraged by that individual to make Rover fight, and to fight myself, whenever it came in the way. Had he discouraged this in me; had he told me that fighting was wrong, his precept for good would have been as powerful as his precept for evil. ”

“ Jack Rover could see that Brassy Bangs was laboring under great excitement. The youth who loved to dress in such a showy manner was red of face and his eyes glittered in a manner calculated to make any one quail before him.
But the young captain of Company C was not going to quail, and he stood his ground and looked the other youth squarely in the face. ”

“ We are now the most united trio, and Roy and Rustler have licked all the other dogs in the neighbourhood.
[108]
A Noble Dog
ROVER would go into the water fast enough for a bathe or a swim, but he would not bring anything out. The children used to throw in sticks, and Rover and I used to bound in together; but I would bring the stick back, while he swam round and round, enjoying himself.
I am not vain, but I could not help feeling how much superior I was to such [109] a dog as Rover. He is a prize Newfoundland, and I am only a humble retriever of obscure family. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I have a mind to tell you one of my own youthful adventures, in which a poor wight of a sheep had a prominent share. The adventure proved of immense service to me, as you will see in the sequel. Perhaps the story of it will be valuable to you, in the same manner.
I shall never forget the first time I sallied out into the woods to try my hand at hunting. Rover, the old family dog, went with me, and he was about as green in the matter of securing game as myself. We were pretty well matched, I think. I played the part of Hudibras, as nearly as I can recollect, and Rover was a second Ralph. ”

“ I am told there is a constant cry for "more! more!" and so I present this new Rover Boys story, which tells of the doings of Dick, Tom, and Sam and their friends during an outing on one of our great rivers,—an outing full of excitement and fun and with a touch of a rather unusual mystery. During the course of the tale some of the old enemies of the Rover Boys turn up, but our heroes know, as of old, how to take care of themselves; and all ends well. ”

“ The canary-bird has a sunny window, and the plants spread out their leaves and unfold their blossoms as if there were no ice and snow in the street, and Rover makes a hearth-rug of himself in winking satisfaction in front of my fire, except when Jenny is taken with a fit of discipline, when he beats a retreat, and secretes himself under my table. ”

“ No sooner had the cutter’s bows been turned to the eastwards, than Rover, who had previously been looking very uneasy, standing up with his hind legs on one of the thwarts and his fore-paws on the taffrail astern, gazing anxiously behind at the land they were leaving, all at once gave vent to a loud unearthly howl and sprang overboard. ”

“ At this Ready broke down altogether, tail and all, and sobbed out the whole story.
“Come, come,” said Rover at last, “be a dog and keep up your courage. Try wagging your tail a little, that always helps.”
So Ready wagged his tail and it did help a little speck. Then Rover gave him some breakfast and that helped a great deal.
After breakfast was over, Rover gave Ready letters of introduction to several traveling dog [Pg 24] friends of his in the hope that they might happen to know Master Dick’s seashore home. ”

“ Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah like the dogs best. And just as there are three children so there are three dogs. Let's shake hands with them, one by one.
The great big dog is named Rover, the middle-sized one Brownie, and the little yellow curly one Wienerwurst.
A wise fellow is Rover. From a cold country called Newfoundland his great grandfather came. And he seems to think life is a very serious matter. His coat is black with snow-white patches. His hair curls a little. It feels very soft when you lay your head against it. ”

“ I would state that the Rover boys were three in number, Dick being the oldest, Tom next, and Sam the youngest, as already mentioned. Whether the boys were orphans or not was a question which could not be answered. Upon the death of their mother, their father, a rich mine owner and geological expert, had left the boys in the care of his brother, Randolph Rover, an eccentric gentleman who devoted his entire time to scientific farming. Mr. Anderson Rover had then journeyed to the western coast of Africa, hoping to locate some valuable gold mines in the heart of the Dark Continent. ”

“ Of all the beautiful things on earth, there is nothing of nobler beauty than a noble horse; and Rover, in his clean-limbed gloss and tensity, was a sight to thrill the crowds that were privileged to see him spurn the earth, and arch his graceful neck, and curvet a little for the subtle joy that comes of spending power when power is there in a very plethora. Every white man's eye grew proudly bright as he gazed and gloried in his champion and fear left all their hearts. At the starting post, they swung about, Little Breeches mounted, and a mighty cheer went up. "Ho, Red Cloud! ”

“ The rover leads a solitary life, rambling alone through, the forest, and never associating with others of his kind. He appears to be a sort of outlaw from his tribe, banished for bad temper or some other fault, to become more fierce and wicked in his outlawry. ”

“ A long letter was written to Captain Townsend, telling of the finding of Anderson Rover, and the master of the Rosabel was, later on, sent a gift of one hundred dollars for his goodness to the Rovers. ”

“ Ann likes Rover too. She saw Rover run off with the hat. Here, Rover, here! You are a bad dog! Why did you run off with the hat?
III.
Ho, ho! Look at the boys and girls. See them go down the hill, over the snow. Now they go back, up the hill.
IV.
They are out at play. They will not get hurt. How merry they are! Ann, I will give you a ride on my sled. We will have a race with Rover and see how fast we can run.
LESSON XXV SPELLING REVIEW. SCRIPT EXERCISE.
LESSON XXVI. NEW WORDS.
LESSON XXVII. NEW WORDS.
Now, Roy, you beat the drum, and we will march. ”

“ Soon the young folks were aboard the two automobiles. In the meantime Dick Rover had turned the checks for the trunks over to an expressman and in a few minutes more the whole crowd was headed for Riverside Drive. Here a surprise awaited them. Not only was Mrs. Tom Rover on hand to greet them, but likewise their grandfather, Anderson Rover, and their old Aunt Martha and Uncle Randolph, who had come from Valley Brook Farm on a short visit to the city.
“My gracious, this is fine!” cried Fred. “A regular family reunion!” and then came more hugs and kisses all around. ”