The school opened a new world for the boys. They had to study hard, but a lot of fun was mixed in with the work and they had many exciting adventures. They formed warm friendships, but there were two or three bullies in the school who tried to make their lives burdensome. How they finally defeated these petty tyrants and came out on top is told in the first volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake at Rockledge School; or, Winning the Medal of Honor.”
The steamer on which Mr. Blake and his wife had sailed was lost at sea, and for a time it was feared that all on board had gone down with her. Bobby was heart-broken; so when news came later that his parents had been rescued his joy can be imagined. The end of the spring term was near, and Bobby and Fred accepted the invitation of one of their schoolmates, Perry (nicknamed “Pee Wee”) Wise, to spend part of the summer vacation on the coast, where Perry’s father had a summer home. There they had a splendid time. Their most stirring adventure involved the search for a missing boat. This is described in the second volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake at Bass Cove; or, The Hunt for the Motor Boat Gem.”
They would have stayed longer at this delightful place, had it not been for a message brought to Bobby by an old sea captain who was a friend of Mr. Blake. He told Bobby that his parents were on their way home but would stop for a while at Porto Rico, where they wanted Bobby to join them. Bobby was wild to see his parents again, and his joy was increased when Mr. Martin said that he would go too and take Fred along. They expected adventure, but got more than they bargained for, and the story of how they were cast away and finally picked up by the very ship on which Bobby’s father and mother were sailing is told in the third volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake on a Cruise; or, The Castaways of Volcano Island.”
Once more at home, the two boys were preparing to go back to Rockledge for the fall term, when they suddenly came into possession of a pocketbook containing a large sum of money. A strange series of happenings led them at last to the owner. In the meantime, their school life was full of action, culminating in a lively football game where Bobby and Fred helped to defeat Belden School, their chief rival. How well they played their part is shown in the fourth volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake and His School Chums; or, The Rivals of Rockledge.”
The uncle of “Mouser” Pryde, one of Bobby’s particular friends at school, owned a shooting lodge up in the Big Woods, and he invited Mouser to ask some of his friends up there to spend part of the Christmas holidays. Bobby and Fred were members of the party, and they had a glorious time, skating, snowshoeing, fishing through the ice and hunting. In turn, they were themselves hunted by a big bear and had a narrow escape. Incidentally they were fortunate enough to rescue and bring back to his right mind a demented hunter who proved to be Pat Moriarty’s father. How they did this and won the everlasting gratitude of the red-headed Irish boy is described in the fifth volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake at Snowtop Camp; or, Winter Holidays in the Big Woods.”
Pat and Ap seemed to be trying to outstare each other, and the rest waited in breathless silence during this silent duel of eyes.
But Ap’s eyes were the first to fall before the blaze in Pat’s.
“I’ll get even with that Bobby Blake yet,” he mumbled, stooping to pick up his whip.
“Well, the next time don’t bring along your whip to help you out,” replied Bobby.
“An’ when you feel like lookin’ for trouble, I can find it for you,” added Pat. “You’ll be rememberin’, Ap Plunkit, that I licked you once when you gave a hot penny to a monkey, an’ I can do it again.”