"Maybe we'd better go back and see," suggested Frank. "We'll never get the straight of it from Sammy."
"All right, I'm with you," said Bob, and the two followed their chum.
And while they are thus trying to get at the meaning of the remark made by Mrs. Bouncer I will take just a few minutes to tell my new readers something about the three chums and their friends, as well as about their adventures, which I have set down in the other books of this series.
The first volume was named "Fairview Boys Afloat and Ashore; Or, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island." In that I told how Frank Haven, Sammy Brown and Bob Bouncer went sailing in the Puff, how the craft was wrecked, and how the boys had to live on Pine Island for some days before they were rescued.
"Fairview Boys on Eagle Mountain; Or, Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt," was the name of the second book, and in that you can read how Sammy, in looking through an old trunk in the attic, discovered a curious document. It told of treasure, and he and his two chums at once set off for Eagle Mountain to discover it.
In the third book, called "Fairview Boys and their Rivals; Or, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays," the chums had a different form of excitement. There was a fire in the school and a jewelry store robbery. How the stolen things were finally recovered, and what part Bob Bouncer had in it, you will find set down in the book.
Then came the fourth volume, called "Fairview Boys at Camp Mystery; Or, The Old Hermit and His Secret." In that the boys had an invitation to visit an old hunter, who lived on a part of Pine Island they had never explored.
Almost as soon as they reached the island the boys discovered a curious aged hermit, who seemed very angry at them. They also found a mysterious room, in an old mansion, and what they found there, how they were startled by an explosion, and what the old hermit's secret was—all that you will find written down in the fourth book.
The boys spent most of the Christmas vacation on Pine Island, and now winter was over, Spring had come and gone, Summer was at hand, and they were ready for warm weather vacation fun.