"All the same, if my skates had been just a little sharper I think I might have won," he added a little wistfully.

"Well, I am glad the honors stay in our family anyhow," announced Fred, as he skated up, followed by Andy.

"And first and second prizes, too!" cried his cousin. "That ought to be enough to hold the other fellows for awhile."

Jack and Randy were both panting from their exertions, but their faces showed their satisfaction, and especially did Jack look his pleasure when he happened to glance beyond the crowd of cadets and saw Ruth Stevenson waving her hand toward him. Beside Ruth was May Powell, who waved gaily to all of the Rovers.

"Fine race, boys! Fine race!" was Fatty Hendry's comment. "Just the same, none of you would have been in it for a minute if I had entered,"

and at this joke there was a general laugh.

"Say, Fatty, you should have gone into it just to lose flesh," was Andy's dry comment. "If you tried real hard, you might lose a pound a mile," and at this there was another laugh.

The crowd began to gather around Jack and Randy and the others who had won the race, and many wanted to shake hands with the oldest Rover boy.

Even some of the town folks skated up, and they were followed by some of the girls from Clearwater Hall.

"I say, boys, this may not be safe!" cried Professor Brice suddenly, when the crowd on the ice had become unusually thick. "This ice isn't as strong as it might be."

"Yes, and with Fatty in the crowd----" began Andy Rover. Then, of a sudden, he stopped short because an ominous crack was heard, followed by several other cracks.

"The ice is breaking!"

"Skate away, everybody, or we'll go down!"

Instantly there was a commotion, and all of the skaters tried to break away from the spot where the crowd had congregated. The confusion was tremendous, and in the mix-up six or eight persons, including Ruth Stevenson and May Powell, were thrown down. Then came another crack, and it looked as if in another instant the ice would give way completely and precipitate the whole crowd into the cold waters of the lake.

CHAPTER II

SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS

It was a time of extreme peril, and it is doubtful if any one realized that more than did Jack Rover. He, too, had been thrown down, and across his legs was sprawled the heavy form of Fatty Hendry. It was the toppling over of the fat youth which had caused one of the cracks which were now so numerous in the ice.

"Hi! get off of me!" yelled Jack, and managed to pull one of his legs free; and with this he pushed the fat youth to one side.

"Help! help! We're going down!" came in a scream from May Powell.

The ice had become depressed where she and Ruth Stevenson stood, and both were already in a half inch of water.

"Scatter! Everybody scatter!" cried Professor Brice, and then rushed to one side, to rescue several little boys and girls.

"Come on, Jack, we've got to help those girls!" cried Randy, and caught his cousin by the arm, thus a.s.sisting him to his feet. Then off the pair skated, with Andy and Fred behind them, all bent on going to the a.s.sistance of the girls from Clearwater Hall.

Now, I know quite well that to the readers of the former volumes in these two "Rover Boys Series," all of the Rovers, both old and young, will need no introduction. But for the benefit of those who have not perused any of the previous volumes in this line, a few words concerning our characters will not be amiss.

In my first volume, ent.i.tled "The Rover Boys at School," I told how three brothers, d.i.c.k, Tom and Sam Rover, had been sent off to Putnam Hall Military Academy, where they made a host of friends, including a manly and straightforward cadet, named Lawrence Colby. From Putnam Hall, the Rovers were sent to Brill College, and after leaving that inst.i.tution of learning they went into business in Wall Street, New York City, where they organized The Rover Company, of which d.i.c.k was now president; Tom, secretary; and Sam, treasurer.

While at Putnam Hall the three Rovers had become acquainted with three charming girls, Dora Stanhope and her cousins Nellie and Grace Laning.

This acquaintance had ripened into loving intimacy, and when d.i.c.k went into business he had made Dora Stanhope his life-long partner. A short while after this Tom married Nellie Laning and Sam married Grace.

When first married, d.i.c.k and his beautiful wife Dora had begun housekeeping in a small apartment, but a few years later the three brothers had purchased a plot of ground on Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson river, and there they had built three handsome houses, d.i.c.k living in the middle house, and Tom on one side and Sam on the other.

Before the young people had moved into the new homes, d.i.c.k and Dora became the proud parents of a little son, who was named John, after Mr.

Laning. The son was followed by a daughter, Martha, so named after her Great Aunt Martha of Valley Brook Farm, where the older boys had spent many of their youthful days. Little Jack, as he was called, was a bright lad with many of the qualities which had made his father so well liked and so successful in life.

About the time Jack's sister Martha was born, Tom and Nellie Rover came forward with twin boys, one of whom they named Anderson, after his grandfather, and the other Randolph, after Uncle Randolph, of Valley Brook Farm. Andy and Randy, as they were always called for short, were exceedingly clever and active lads, in this particular being a second edition of their father. Andy was usually saying things that were more or less funny, and Randy thought that playing some trick was the finest thing in the world.

"You can't find fault with those kids, Tom," d.i.c.k Rover said more than once. "They are chips off the old block."

"Well, I suppose they are," Tom Rover would reply, with a twinkle in his eye. "But if they never do anything that is really mean or harmful, I won't care."

About the same time the twins were born, Sam and Grace Rover came along with a beautiful little girl, whom they named Mary, after Mrs. Laning.

Then, a year later, the girl was followed by a st.u.r.dy little boy, who was christened Fred, after Sam Rover's old school chum, Fred Garrison.

Living so close together--the three stone mansions on Riverside Drive were connected--the younger generation of Rover boys, as well as the girls, were brought up very much like one big family. The winters were spent in New York City, while during the summer the young folks were generally bundled off to Valley Brook Farm, where their grandfather, Anderson Rover, still resided with his brother Randolph and wife Martha.

At first both the girls and the boys had been sent to private schools in the metropolis. But the boys showed such a propensity for "cutting up,"

as d.i.c.k Rover expressed it, that the fathers were compelled to hold a consultation.

"The best thing we can do is to send them to some strict boarding school," was d.i.c.k Rover's comment, and in this the brothers agreed.

Some time before, their old school chum, Lawrence Colby, who had since become a colonel in the state militia, had opened a military academy, which he called Colby Hall. The place was gaining an enviable reputation as a first-cla.s.s inst.i.tution of learning, being modeled after Putnam Hall, which, in its day, had been run somewhat on the lines of West Point.

"We'll send them to Colby Hall," had been the decision of the older Rovers, and to that place Jack, Andy and Randy, and Fred had gone, as related in detail in the volume ent.i.tled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall."

The military school presided over by Colonel Colby was located about half a mile from the town of Haven Point, on Clearwater Lake, a beautiful sheet of water about two miles long and half a mile wide. At the head of the lake was the Rick Rack River, running down from the hills and woods beyond. The school consisted of a large stone building shaped somewhat in the form of a cross, the upper portion facing the river. It was three stories in height, and contained, not only the cla.s.srooms and the mess hall, but also the dormitories and private rooms for the scholars. To one side was a brick building, which at one time had been a private dwelling, but which was now occupied by Colonel Colby and his family and some of the professors. On the opposite side was a new and up-to-date gymnasium. Down at the water's edge were a number of small buildings used as boathouses and bathhouses. Behind the Hall were a stable and a barn, and also a garage; and still further back there were a large vegetable garden and numerous farm fields.

On their arrival at Colby Hall, the Rover boys had found several of their friends awaiting them. One of these was d.i.c.k Powell, the son of Songbird Powell, a former schoolmate of their fathers, a fellow who was usually called Spouter because of his fondness for making speeches.

Another lad was Gifford Garrison, usually called Gif for short, who was at the head of the school athletics. Gif was the son of Fred Garrison, after whom Fred Rover had been named.

They also made friends of a number of others, some of whom we have already met. These included Walter Baxter, the son of Dan Baxter, who in years gone by had been an enemy to the older Rovers, but who had long since reformed.

Before coming to Colby Hall Jack Rover had had a quarrel in New York with a tall, dudish youth named Napoleon Martell, and this had almost led to a fight. Nappy Martell, as he was usually called by his cronies, was a pupil at the military academy, and soon he and his crony, a big, overgrown bully, named Slogwell Brown, did what they could to make life miserable for all of the Rovers. But in one of their dirty tricks they over-reached themselves, and as a consequence they had been exposed and sent away from the inst.i.tution of learning for the time being.

"But they are coming back," Walt Baxter had told the Rover boys; "and they say when they do, they will make it hot for you."

"Well, when Slugger and Nappy return we will be ready for them," had been Jack Rover's reply.

"And the next time we won't be as easy on them as we were before," Fred had added.

All of the cadets formed a battalion of several companies, commanded by one of the older cadets, Major Ralph Mason. The Rovers took to the military drill and general exercises readily, and soon learned how to march and how to handle a gun. They enjoyed drilling very much--in fact, they enjoyed it more than they did studying, although all of them were good scholars.

As has been stated, Colby Hall was located about half a mile out of Haven Point. On the other side of the town was located Clearwater Hall, a boarding school for girls. During a panic in a moving picture theater in the town, Jack and his cousins had become acquainted with a number of these girls, including Ruth Stevenson and May Powell. After that the four boys had taken four of the girls rowing on the lake and on other outings, and through this had become quite well acquainted with a number of the Clearwater Hall pupils. Jack was particularly interested in Ruth Stevenson, and thought her a very beautiful and entertaining young lady.

The others did not seem to have any particular preference, although Fred was often seen to side up to May Powell, the entertaining cousin of Spouter.

And now, having introduced these young ladies in a proper manner, let us return to them at the time when they were struggling on the ice and in the midst of the frightened crowd rushing hither and thither, striving to save itself from being immersed in the icy waters of the lake.