"Back to dear old Putnam Hall!
Back to the days of yore!
Back to the good old times we had!
May we have many more!
Back to our lessons and our books,
And to the teachers, too,
Back to the drills and hours off——"
"And to the mutton stew!"
finished Tom. "Don't forget to put in Mrs. Green's wonderful mutton stews."
"No mutton stews in this!" snorted Songbird. "The last line was, 'When days were bright and blue,'" and then he continued:
"We love to gather here again,
And talk of times to come,
And plot and plan, and plan and plot——
And plan and plot——and plot and plot——
And plan——and plan——and plan——"
"Songbird, you've plotted and planned too much," interrupted Dick, as the would-be poet hesitated. "Let's sing a song."
"That's the talk!" cried Fred Garrison, and started up the song well known to all of them:
"Putnam Hall's the place for me!
Tra la lee! Tra la lee!
Putnam Hall's the place for me!
The best old school I know!"
And then, as the carryall swung up to the campus, they set up the school yell, which brought out a score of students to witness the arrival of the Rover boys.