The Rover Boys Under Canvas | Page 7

Martha.
At first the boys and girls had been sent to private schools in the
Metropolis; but soon the lads, led by Andy and Randy, showed such a
propensity for "cutting loose" that their parents were compelled to hold
a consultation.
"We'll have to do as Uncle Randolph did with us," said Dick Rover.
"We'll have to send them to some strict boarding school--some military
academy." And to this the others had agreed.
Some time previous their old school chum, Lawrence Colby, who had
since become a colonel in the state militia, had opened a military
academy, called Colby Hall.
"We'll send them to that place," was the decision of the older Rovers.
"Lawrence Colby is just the fellow to make them behave themselves,
and as we are such good friends he will be sure to give them extra
attention."
So the boys were sent off to this school, as related in detail in the first
volume of my second series, entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall."
This military school was located about half a mile from the town of
Haven Point on Clearwater Lake, a beautiful sheet of water about two
miles long and nearly half a mile wide. At the head of the lake was the
Rick Rack River, running down from the hills and woods beyond.
The school consisted of a large stone building, facing the river at a
point not far from where the stream emptied into the lake. It was a
three-storied structure, and contained the classrooms and a mess hall
and also the dormitories and private rooms for the scholars. Close by
was a smaller brick building, occupied by Colonel Colby and his family
and some of the professors.

On the opposite side was an up-to-date gymnasium, while at the water's
edge were a number of small buildings used as boathouses and bathing
pavilions. Behind the hall were a stable and barn, and also a garage,
and further back were a large garden and several farm fields and a great
athletic field where the boys played baseball in the spring and football
in the fall.
On arriving at Colby Hall the young Rovers had found several of their
friends awaiting them, one of these being Dick Powell, the son of
Songbird Powell, a former schoolmate of their fathers. Dick was
always called Spouter because of his fondness for long speeches.
Another was Gifford, the son of Fred Garrison, after whom Fred Rover
had been named. There was also Walter Baxter, a son of Dan Baxter,
who years before had been an enemy of the older Rovers, but who had
now reformed and was doing very well.
Before coming to Colby Hall, Jack Rover had had a quarrel in New
York City with a tall, dudish youth, named Napoleon Martell. Nappy
Martell, as he was called by his cronies, was a cadet at the military
academy, and he and his crony, an overgrown bully named Slugger
Brown, did what they could to make trouble for the Rovers. But one of
their underhanded transactions was exposed, and they were sent away
from the academy for the time being.
As mentioned, Colby Hall was located about half a mile beyond Haven
Point. On the opposite side of the town was located Clearwater Hall, a
boarding school for girls. During a panic in a moving-picture theater
Jack and his cousins became acquainted with a number of these girls,
including Ruth Stevenson, May Powell, Alice Strobell, and Annie
Larkins. They found out that May was Spouter Powell's cousin, and the
whole crowd of young people soon became friends. Later on Mary and
Martha Rover became pupils at the girls' school.
Ruth Stevenson had an old uncle Barney, who in times past had had a
bitter quarrel with Ruth's parents. The Rover boys once went out
hunting, and on this occasion saved the old man's life, as related in
"The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island." For this the old man was
exceedingly grateful, and as a result he invited them to spend their

winter holidays on Snowshoe Island, a place which he said he owned
and of which he was very proud.
The boys traveled to this island and had many adventures while hunting
and otherwise. They found out that the father of Slogwell Brown,
always called Slugger by his comrades, was laying claim to the island.
This man, backed up by Asa Lemm, a discharged teacher of Colby Hall,
and backed up likewise by his son Slugger and Nappy Martell, did all
he could to take possession of the property. But the Rover boys
exposed the plot, and held the rascals at bay, and in the end old Barney
Stevenson's claim to the land was made safe. During the time on the
island Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell had stolen