The Rover Boys in the Jungle | Page 2

state that the Rover boys were three in number, Dick
being the oldest, Tom next, and Sam the youngest, as already
mentioned. Whether the boys were orphans or not was a question
which could not be answered. Upon the death of their mother, their
father, a rich mine owner and geological expert, had left the boys in the
care of his brother, Randolph Rover, an eccentric gentleman who
devoted his entire time to scientific farming. Mr. Anderson Rover had
then journeyed to the western coast of Africa, hoping to locate some
valuable gold mines in the heart of the Dark Continent. He had plunged
into the interior with a number of natives, and that was the last heard of
him, although Mr. Randolph Rover had made diligent inquiries
concerning his whereabouts.
All of the boys were bright, fun-loving fellows, and to keep them out of
mischief Randolph Rover had sent them off to Putnam Hall, a first
class school, located some distance from Cedarville, a pretty town on
Lake Cayuga, in New York State. Here the lads had made numerous

friends and incidentally a number of enemies.
Of the friends several have already been named, and others will come
to the front as our story proceeds. Of the enemies the principal ones
were Arnold Baxter, a man who had tried, years before, to defraud the
boys' father out of a gold mine in the West, and his son Dan, who had
once been the bully of Putnam Hall. Arnold Baxter's tool was a
good-for-nothing scamp named Buddy Girk, who had once robbed
Dick of his watch. Both of these men were now in jail charged with an
important robbery in Albany, and the Rover boys had aided in bringing
the men to justice. Dan, the bully, was also under arrest, charged with
the abduction of Dom Stanhope. Dom, who was Dick Rover's dearest
friend, had been carried off by the directions of Josiah Crabtree, a
former teacher of Putnam Hall, who wished to marry Mrs. Stanhope
and thus get his hands on the money the widow held in trust for her
daughter, but the abduction had been nipped in the bud and Josiah
Crabtree had fled, leaving Dan Baxter to shoulder the blame of the
transaction. How Dora was restored to her mother and what happened
afterward, old readers already know.
A winter had passed since the events narrated above, and before and
after the holidays the Rover boys had studied diligently, to make up for
the time lost on that never-to-be-forgotten ocean chase. Their efforts
had not been in vain, and each lad had been promoted to the next higher
class, much to Randolph Rover's satisfaction and the joy of their
tender-hearted Aunt Martha.
"The boys are all right, even if they do love to play pranks," was
Randolph Rover's comment, when he heard of the promotions. "I trust
they improve their time during the term to come."
"They are good boys, Randolph," returned Mr. Rover. "They would not
be real boys if they did not cut up once in a while. As to their daring --
why, they simply take after their father. Poor man. If only we knew,
what had become of him."
"Yes, a great weight would be lifted from our shoulders, Martha, if we
knew that. But we do not know, and there seems to be no way of

finding out. I have written to the authorities at various places in Africa
until I know not whom to address next."
"He must be dead, otherwise he would write or come home, Randolph.
He was not one to keep us in the dark so long."
"I cannot believe my brother dead, and the boys will not believe it
either. Do you know what Dick said to me before he left for school? He
said, that if we didn't get word he was going to Africa some day to hunt
his father up."
"To Africa! What will that boy do in such a jungle, and among such
fierce natives? He will be killed!"
"Perhaps not. The boy is uncommonly shrewd, when it comes to
dealing with his enemies. Just look how nicely he and Tom and Sam
served Arnold Baxter and those others. It was wonderful doings -- for,
boys."
"Yes, but they may not be so successful always, Randolph. I should
hate to see them run into any more, danger."
"So should I, my dear. But they will take care of themselves, I feel that
more and more every day," concluded Randolph Rover; and there, for
the time being, the subject was dropped.
"I wonder what has become of old Josiah Crabtree?" remarked Dick
Rover, as he and his brothers walked around the parade ground to
inspect several improvement which Captain Putnam had caused to be
made.
"I'm