“By crickey! There are the boys!”
“Jim Nestor!” exclaimed Jerry. “What brings you East? We thought you were at our mine!”
“I just had to come!” replied he who answered to the name of Jim Nestor. “Boys, it’s a queer story, but I’ve got something else on hand just now—me and Harvey Brill here. I’ll be with you in a few minutes, just as soon as we see how far this lode goes,” and he began digging again with his stick between the ties.
And now, may I beg your indulgence for just a moment or two—you, my new readers—while I explain a little bit about the three boys who are to be the heroes of this story? Those of you who have read the previous books in this series may skip this part, as I know you will, but others may care to know a little more about Bob Baker, Jerry Hopkins and Ned Slade.
The three chums had lived for several years in the New England town of Cresville. Bob was the son of Mr. Andrew Baker, a rich banker; Jerry the only son of a well-to-do widow—Mrs. Julia Hopkins; while Ned’s father, Aaron Slade, was a well-known department store proprietor.
The boys’ acquaintance began when they each became possessed of bicycles, and went on trips together. Then they got motor cycles, as related in the first volume of the series, “The Motor Boys,” and, winning a race, they got an auto as a prize.
In their car they went on a tour overland, with a certain Professor Snodgrass, an enthusiastic collector of bugs and insects for various colleges and museums. The professor was quite a character.
After their tour overland, during which many exciting incidents happened, the motor boys traveled to Mexico, discovering a buried city, and came home across the plains, on which trip they discovered the hermit of Lost Lake.
About this time motor boating came much into prominence, and our three heroes, of course, had to have a water craft. How they got one, and made many a trip in it, is told in the book, “The Motor Boys Afloat.” Their voyage on the Atlantic was filled with adventures of moment, and when they went to the strange waters of the Florida Everglades they had trials and troubles as well as a good time.