The Rover Boys out West | Page 3

out half of Cedarville."
"If only old Carrick has some of his Fourth of July fireworks left," said
Sam.
"Chust so!" grinned Hans Muelle, the German cadet who had joined the
academy the season before. "Vot is von celebration midowit firevorks,
hey? He vos chust noddings!"
"Do you want another pistol explosion?" asked one of the others,
referring to an incident between Tom Rover and Hans which had nearly
ended in a tragedy.
"Mine cracious, no!" howled the German lad. "I go me not py a
hundred feet mid an old pistol again alrietty! I vould radder sit town on
von can of dynamite to sleep, yes I vould!" And he shook his curly
head earnestly.
"We won't have any pistols in this," broke in Tom, who felt like
shuddering every time the incident was mentioned. "We'll just have
skyrockets, and Roman candles, and pin-wheels, and all of the rest of
the good old-fashioned things -- that is for the celebration on the
outside."
"And for the celebration on the inside let us have cake, ice-cream, fruits,
and nuts," put in Larry. "At this minute I feel hungry enough to eat the
captain out of house and home."

"Ditto myself," came from another student.
"Perhaps the captain will be glad enough to have us celebrate -- at our
own expense," suggested a cadet in one corner, yet he did not mean
what he said, knowing that bluff Captain Putnam, the owner and
headmaster of Putnam Hall was whole-souled and generous to the core.
The stage had already covered over a mile of the road, and now the
turnout left the lake shore and began to climb a long hill leading to the
heights upon which the academy was located. But there was still a little
valley to cross, at the bottom of which dashed a rocky mountain torrent
on its way to the placid waters beyond.
At the top of the first long rise Peleg Snuggers stopped the team for a
few minutes' rest. Here the view was magnificent, and many a cadet
stopped his idle talk to gaze at the mountains to the westward and the
sparkling lake winding along in the opposite direction. It was early fall,
and nearly every tree was tinted with red and gold, while here and there
the first frosts had covered the ground with leaves and nuts.
"Don't wait too long, Peleg," urged Tom impatiently. "It will take some
time to get ready for our celebration to-night, you know."
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can, Master Tom," was the reply. "Git up,
Jack! git up, Sally!" And once more they moved off, and again some of
the boys tooted their horns. At this Sally picked up her ears and gave a
little start to one side of the narrow road, dragging her mate along.
"Whoa! Steady there!" cried Peleg Snuggers, and tried to pull the team
in. Failing in this He grabbed the brake handle and pushed it back
vigorously. He was so nervous that he gave the handle a mighty wrench,
and in a twinkle the brake bar snapped off, close to the wheel. Onward
bounded the stage, hitting the team in the flanks, and away leaped both
horses on a dead run!
"The brake is broke!"
"Stop the team, Peleg, or they'll upset us sure!"

"Whoa, there, Jack! Whoa, Sally! Don't you know enough to stop?"
Such were some of the cries which rang out. Peleg Snuggers grasped
the lines and pulled with might and main. But then came an awful
bump, and away flew the driver into a bush along the roadside, and the
reins fell to the horses heels, scaring them worse than ever,
"We are in for it!" gasped Tom. "I don't see how we are going to stop
them now."
"The bridge! The bridge across the gully!" screamed another cadet, in
terror-stricken tones. "They were mending it this morning. Supposing
they haven't the new planking down?"
"There is the bridge!" burst out another, pointing ahead. "Oh, Heavens,
boys, we are lost!"
All strained their eyes ahead to see what he meant, and then every face
grew pale. The bridge was torn up completely, not a single plank of the
flooring remained.
CHAPTER II
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
The Rover boys were three in number, Dick being the oldest, Tom
coming next, and Sam the youngest. In their younger days they had
resided with their parents in New York, but after the death of their
mother and the disappearance of their father they had gone to live with
their uncle, Randolph Rover, and their Aunt Martha, on a farm called
Valley Brook, near the village of Dexter Corners, on the Swift River.
Those who have read the previous volumes of this series, entitled
respectively, "The Rover Boys at