“I can’t understand why two such fellows should act the way they do,” said Bart White. “They both come from fairly well-to-do families, and they could be really fine fellows if they wanted to.”
“Slugger Brown doesn’t come from a very good family—at least as far as his father is concerned,” answered Jack. “Mr. Brown is just as mean and dishonorable as Slugger. He was at the head of the plot to do poor Barney Stevenson out of Snowshoe Island.”
“Yes, and to my mind Mr. Martell is no better,” added Randy. “I’ve heard my father talking about him several times. Martell has been in more than one shady stock transaction down in Wall Street.”
When the Rover boys arrived at Colby Hall they were immediately surrounded by a number of their friends, all eager to learn the particulars of what had occurred in the vicinity of the girls’ boarding school. Of course the others who had come in ahead of them had already told their stories, but everybody at the military academy was eager to get all the details possible.
“It’s the worst calamity that ever happened around here,” said Will Hendry, the stoutest boy in the school, and who was generally called Fatty. Hendry had started to leave the school grounds shortly after the others had gone, but had been stopped by Captain Dale.
“It looks to me as if it was the work of German sympathizers,” said Major Ralph Mason, who was the cadet at the head of the school battalion. Ralph was the oldest student at the Hall, and one who was greatly liked by everybody.
“Ralph, what do you think about our getting into this war in Europe?” questioned Randy. During off hours the young officer was always addressed by the Rovers by his first name, although during school hours and when on parade they invariably addressed the young major by his official title.
“I’m glad we’ve got into it at last,” returned Ralph Mason. “My father thinks we should have gotten into it long ago. I only wish one thing,” he added wistfully.
“And I know what that is!” cried Jack. “You wish you were old enough to volunteer for the army or the navy!”
“If we were all older what a grand company of volunteers the Government could get out of Colby Hall,” said Randy. “I’ll wager more than half of the fellows would want to go.”