In the opening volume of the First Series, “The Rover Boys at School,” I introduced my readers to Dick, Tom and Sam Rover and their friends and relatives. That volume and those which followed related the adventures of the three Rover boys at Putnam Hall Military Academy, Brill College, and elsewhere.
Leaving college, the three young men established themselves in business in New York City and became married to their girl sweethearts. Dick Rover became the father of a son and a daughter, as did likewise his brother Sam, while Tom was blessed with a pair of lively twin boys. The four youths were first sent to boarding school, as related in the first volume of the Second Series, entitled “The Rover Boys at Colby Hall,” where the lads made a host of friends. During their outings they went with one of the older Rovers to establish oil wells in Texas and Oklahoma and also went out on Sunset Trail, where we last met them. Their school days had come to an end, and two of the boys were preparing to join their fathers in business when a most disastrous affair occurred. Then the lads went on an ocean trip in an endeavor to aid the family fortunes, and what stirring times their outing led to I leave for the pages which follow to narrate.
Of the twenty-nine volumes issued in this line of “Rover Boys” stories the publishers have already sold over three and one-half million copies! To me this is as astonishing as it is pleasing, and I here wish to thank all the young people, as well as the parents, who have stood by me in my efforts to entertain them.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
Edward Stratemeyer.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
|---|---|---|
| I | [Fred Has a Secret] | 1 |
| II | [The Rovers and Some Others] | 12 |
| III | [An Odd Disappearance] | 22 |
| IV | [Aleck Sees a Ghost] | 32 |
| V | [A Glimpse of Enemies] | 42 |
| VI | [How the Race was Decided] | 52 |
| VII | [About Some Investments] | 63 |
| VIII | [Off on an Outing] | 73 |
| IX | [The Cabin in the Woods] | 83 |
| X | [An Unexpected Blaze] | 92 |
| XI | [What Happened on the Road] | 102 |
| XII | [Fred Tells His Story] | 113 |
| XIII | [Startling News] | 125 |
| XIV | [A Daring Hold-Up] | 136 |
| XV | [How the Rover Company was Held Up] | 147 |
| XVI | [A Gloomy Outlook] | 157 |
| XVII | [Real Friends] | 166 |
| XVIII | [Following Ken Greene] | 177 |
| XIX | [Captain Corning’s Story] | 188 |
| XX | [The Dots in a Triangle] | 197 |
| XXI | [The Boys Reach a Decision] | 207 |
| XXII | [Bound for the Gulf of Mexico] | 217 |
| XXIII | [Caught in a Storm] | 227 |
| XXIV | [A Message of Importance] | 237 |
| XXV | [Sam Makes a Discovery] | 247 |
| XXVI | [Hidden Evidence] | 257 |
| XXVII | [The Man on Horseback] | 267 |
| XXVIII | [The Man in the Hammock] | 276 |
| XXIX | [The Explosion] | 285 |
| XXX | [Home Again—Conclusion] | 296 |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| [THE WRECK WAS BLOWN COMPLETELY APART] | Frontispiece |
| [TWICE THE MOTHER FOX BARKED AND SHOWED HER TEETH] | 93 |
| [THEY WENT DOWN OVER THE ROUGH ROCKS] | 139 |
| [“AMERICAN BOYS, EH? GET OUT OF MY WAY!”] | 276 |