The Rover Boys at Colby Hall | Page 8

boxing matches, one taking place between Andy and
Jack and the other between Randy and Fred.
"There, my boy, how do you like that?" cried Andy, as, dancing around,

he managed to land a slapping blow on Jack's bare shoulder.
"Fine, child! fine!" retorted young Jack. "But not half as good as this,"
he continued, and, with a sudden spring, he landed one blow on Andy's
chest and another on his shoulder which sent Tom's son staggering
half-way across the bed.
"Hurrah! one man down! Now for the next!" cried Fred, and managed
to land several blows in quick succession on Randy's shoulder.
But then the fun-loving twin came at him with a rush, sending him into
a corner and on to a little table containing a number of books. As Fred
went down the table did likewise and the books fell all over him.
"Whoop!" roared Randy in his delight. "Down and buried!"
"But not dead," retorted Fred, promptly, and catching up several of the
books he hurled them in quick succession at his opponent. One in
particular caught Randy in the stomach, and down he sat with a
suddenness that jarred the floor.
"Say!" exclaimed Jack, suddenly, and held up his hand, "this won't do
at all. The folks downstairs will think we're pulling the house down
over their ears. We'll have to slow up a bit. You know what our fathers
said a little while ago."
"All right," returned Andy, promptly, as he arose to his feet. "After this
we'll be as quiet as a thunder storm in a moving picture drama."
"That's the talk! Silence it is!" cried his twin; and then to let off a little
extra steam he silently turned a cart-wheel across the floor, after which
he proceeded with his toilet making.
The boys were still minus their collars and ties when they suddenly
realized that something unusual was taking place downstairs. They had
closed the bedroom doors, but now all of them rushed out into the
hallway.

"Great watermelons!" groaned Randy, and turned slightly pale. "I
forgot all about 'em!"
"About what?" chimed in Jack.
"You don't mean the mice?" demanded Andy.
"Yes, I do!"
"What mice?" questioned Fred.
"The mice I caught under the flooring of the old wagon house
yesterday," answered Randy.
"I thought you put them in a cage and drowned them in the brook."
"I was going to do that, but then I changed my mind and put 'em in a
couple of boxes. I thought maybe I might have a chance to train
'em--just like those mice we once saw in a show."
"Where did you put those boxes?" demanded Andy, quickly.
"I--I--didn't know exactly what to do with 'em, so--I--I--put 'em on the
shelf in the pantry downstairs," faltered the twin.
"Great catfish, Randy! you've got us into a fine mess!" broke in Fred.
"Coming right on top of that trouble with the water-hose!" added Jack,
ruefully.
After that there was a moment of silence, the four cousins gazing at
each other uncertainly. Then Randy drew a long breath.
"Well, I'm going downstairs to see what's doing," he declared. "If I've
got to suffer for this, I might as well see the fun."
"I'm going down, too," responded his twin, and side by side they ran
down the stairs, with Jack and Fred close at their heels.

Perhaps it was poetic justice that Randy, who had been the cause of this
commotion, should suffer the worst for it. Hardly had he put his foot in
the lower hallway of the farmhouse when a mouse, scampering from a
nearby doorway, made directly for him. The boy made a wild jump to
step on the rodent, missed his footing, and came down flat on his back.
He landed directly at the foot of the stairs, and his brother, being unable
to stop, fell on top of him.
"Hi! Get off of me!" gasped the unfortunate youth. "What do you want
to do--crack my head open?"
"Next time you go down, give a fellow warning," retorted his brother,
scrambling to his feet; and then the two boys, with Jack and Fred,
entered the sitting-room, doing this just as their fathers came in from
the direction of the kitchen and just when old Uncle Randolph made his
unfortunate attack on the fish-globe.
"Hello! look at the fish on the floor," exclaimed Jack. "What's the
matter, Grandfather? Did the mice upset the globe?"
"No. I did that, trying to hit one of the pesky creatures," explained old
Uncle Randolph. "We must kill them some way or they'll get all over
the house, and then none of us will have any peace."
"I wouldn't care for a piece of mouse, anyway," remarked Andy, but in
such a low tone that none of the older folks