Colby Hall was located on Clearwater Lake not far from the town of Haven Point. On the other side of the town was located Clearwater Hall, a school for girls. Among the pupils at this institution were Ruth Stevenson and also May Powell, a cousin of Spouter Powell. Jack and the other boys speedily became acquainted with these girls, and later on induced their parents to allow Martha and Mary to become pupils at the place.
Gif Garrison had often been a guest of the Rovers. When his father became the owner of a large bungalow at Big Bear Lake, the cadet received permission to use the place for a summer outing. How Gif, Spouter and the four Rover boys went to this resort, and what stirring adventures they had there with wild animals and with some students from a rival academy, is told in the volume preceding this, entitled “The Rover Boys at Big Bear Lake.”
“We certainly had some wonderful happenings at Big Bear Lake,” Fred had remarked when the boys were returning to Colby Hall after their outing. “I don’t believe we’ll ever have more strenuous times than those.” But in this surmise Fred was mistaken, as the pages which follow will prove.
It was just growing dark when the two automobiles entered Bridgeville and pulled up at the leading hotel. Tom Rover had telephoned ahead, and a substantial supper awaited the crowd, to which, it is needless to state, all did full justice. In spite of the narrow escape during the ride, all of the young folks were in the best of spirits.
“Now tell us what’s the rest of this secret,” demanded Fred. “Where are we bound?”
“Don’t tell them, girls,” cried Tom Rover. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he went on, with that same merry twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll give a five-dollar bill to the boy who first guesses where we are going to stop to-night. Now, no more questions, only keep your eyes wide open.”
“Well, so far, for all I know, we may be headed for New York City,” was Fred’s comment.
“Yes, and we may be headed for the north pole,” answered his fun-loving uncle, gayly.
As soon as possible after supper, the automobile trip was resumed. Mile after mile was reeled off in the semi-darkness, the powerful lights of both machines making the road almost as bright as day. Travel seemed to be light on the highway, and they made rapid progress for thirty miles or more.
“Hello, here is a brand new concrete road!” exclaimed Fred presently. “Looks as if it had just been opened.”