Fairview boys on a ranch

by Frederick Gordon

All three boys were between ten and eleven years of age. They were good friends with most of the boys in town, but were especially fond of each other. They attended the same school and were in the same class, and whether in school or out were almost always together.

Frank was a bright boy with plenty of push and go, and was perhaps the leader among the three, if they could be said to have a leader.

Bob Bouncer was full of fun and mischief and always playing pranks. But with all his joking, there was nothing mean or small about him and he was a general favorite.

Sammy Brown was the dreamer of the three. Give Sammy the least idea of a mystery, and he was on it like a cat on a mouse. The fact that most of his so-called mysteries did not amount to anything in the long run did not discourage Sammy a bit. He was always sure he would hit the mark the next time. Then, too, while Sammy did not, as a rule, find what he set out to look for, he had once or twice made some other interesting discovery, so that he did not feel altogether cheated.

One time the boys were sailing on Rainbow Lake in a small craft called the Puff that belonged to George Haven, Frank's brother. The boat was wrecked and the three boys had to live for several days on Pine Island until help came. How they made the best of it and the adventures they had you will find set down in the first volume of the series, named: "Fairview Boys Afloat and Ashore; Or, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island."

Sammy had his chance to show what a lucky or unlucky detective he was in the second book of the series called: "Fairview Boys on Eagle Mountain; Or, Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt." Sammy found a curious old document in a trunk in the attic that he was sure would lead him to a treasure, and the three chums set off in a great hurry to Eagle Mountain to try and find it.

There is plenty of excitement, though of a different kind, in the third book of the series named: "Fairview Boys and Their Rivals; Or, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays." The jewelry store was robbed and there was a fire in the school. It looked for a time as if the robbery would never be cleared up, but Bob played a clever part in getting back the stolen things and solving the mystery.

Soon after this the boys were invited to visit a hunter who lived on a part of Pine Island that they had never been over. While they were there, for of course they accepted the invitation, they ran across a crabbed old hermit who did his best to drive them from the island. Why he did this and what part was played in the story by an unexpected explosion is told in the fourth book of the series, which is called: "Fairview Boys at Camp Mystery; Or, The Old Hermit and His Secret."

All this had occurred in Winter. But when the Winter had gone and had been followed by Spring, the boys naturally began to plan for the Summer vacation. Mr. Bouncer had taken a cottage at a seaside resort called Lighthouse Cove, and Sammy and Frank had been cordially invited to go with Bob. They had had a splendid time, and Sammy had been greatly stirred up by the strange actions of a man who in Sammy's opinion was certainly digging for pirate gold. The boys, too, had a very dangerous adventure when a motor launch on which they were broke from its moorings in a storm and drifted out to sea. The exciting story of their rescue can be read in the fifth volume of the series, named: "Fairview Boys at Lighthouse Cove; Or, Carried Out to Sea."

As Frank and Sammy reached the point where they had last seen their chum, Bob's head appeared above the surface, his face a kind of grayish green and his eyes filled with terror.