"That's the time you struck the nail on the head!" cried Randy.
"Humph! you needn't rap me about it," returned the young captain briefly. "I guess you'd like to see the girls yourselves."
Now that they knew what they were going to do during the midwinter holidays, the Rover boys and their chums were eager to have the school session come to an end. But they did not neglect their studies, nor did Jack and Fred neglect their duties as officers.
Jack had an essay to write on "The Real Training of a Soldier," and he spent a great deal of time over this.
"Not but what there is a good deal about it that I don't know," said Jack to his cousins. "I guess dad could write a better essay than I can turn out. He's seen some of the real side of a soldier's life."
"What wonderful things our dads will have to tell when they get back," said Fred. "That is, if they ever do get back," he added anxiously.
"Oh, they've got to come back, Fred! They've simply got to!" returned Jack. But his face, too, showed his worry. The Rover boys did not care to admit it to each other, yet each day every one of them worried over their parents. It was dreadful to think that one's father, or one's beloved uncle, might be killed by the Germans, or even badly wounded.
On the Saturday following the bobsled contest the boys assembled once more on the long Hill, and this time they were accompanied by many of the girls from Clearwater Hall. Jack and his cousins gave Ruth and the others many rides down the hill, much to their mutual delight.
"Here comes Bill Glutts with his Yellow Streak," cried Fred presently.
"Here's a chance to have another race with him, Jack," said Fatty Hendry. "He says you won the other race by a foul."