The first volume was called "The Racer Boys," and in that I detailed how the two were at their summer home in Harbor View, and how they solved the mystery of the identity of a lad in a wrecked motor boat.
Andy and Frank Racer were the only sons of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Racer, of New York. Mr. Racer was a wealthy silk merchant. Andy was about a year younger than Frank, and of a fun-loving nature, always ready for a trick or a frolic, and generally so impetuous that he acted first and thought afterward. Frank was inclined to be the opposite, in that he was filled with determination, and he usually carefully thought out his plan of action before venturing to do an important thing.
Still, Frank liked fun, and was not a second behind his brother when it came to having a good time. He was fond of athletics, as indeed they both were, and they had made good showings on track and field.
How they had a battle with a whale, and how they brought the lad ashore from his wrecked boat; how they got on the track of the unscrupulous man who sought to harm him, and how they finally learned who "Paul Gale" was—all these are told in the first book.
In the second volume, entitled "The Racer Boys at Boarding School," our heroes found themselves in a different atmosphere. Their parents decided to send them to some institution of learning after their summer of activity at the shore, and for this purpose Riverview Hall was picked out. Almost at the start there was trouble. On the boat going to the school Frank and Andy defended a girl from the rude talk of a man who turned out to be Professor Thorndyke Callum, one of the teachers at Riverview Hall. Naturally Mr. Callum "had it in" for the two lads.
"Oh, what a punk school!" Andy Racer had exclaimed on reaching Riverview Hall. And indeed, though his language might not have been polite, it was very descriptive.
Riverview Hall was afflicted with "dry rot." It had fallen upon evil days, the trustees had no money to hire good instructors, and, indeed, there was hardly enough cash to keep the institution going. Dr. Wesley Doolittle, the head master, was doing his best, but he was more of a scholar than a financier.
In consequence the buildings were almost in ruins, there was hardly a decent bed in any dormitory, the football gridiron and the baseball diamond were overgrown with weeds, the rowing shells were wrecks, and the few lads at the place were dispirited.
Shortly after the advent of the Racer boys all this was changed. Frank and Andy were at first much discouraged at the poor condition of the school, but they agreed to "stick it out," and they did. They reorganized the football eleven, put the grounds into shape, fixed up a racing shell, got the baseball nine in running order, and soon Riverview Hall was again among the champions.
Then a millionaire, seeing a great football game in which our two heroes played, and learning how much they had done for the school, invested a large sum in it. So that Riverview Hall came into its own again, and among the improvements was the withdrawal of Professor Callum.