"Please don't have me arrested! I've told you the truth, sure!"
"If you'll come with us and behave yourself, we won't have you arrested," answered Tom. "But we are not going to let you get away until we have found out if your story is true."
"We might telegraph to the seminary at once," suggested Sam. "Do you know who is in charge there during the summer?"
"Why, I heard Nellie say that Miss Parsons took charge—the teacher who left the ring with Miss Harrow."
"Then why not telegraph to her?"
"We'll do it! But this fellow has got to come with us until we are sure his story is true."
Andy Royce demurred, but the boys would not listen to him. They accompanied him to his room upstairs, and made him pack up his belongings and pay his bill. Then, somewhat sobered by what was taking place, the gardener accompanied them downstairs and to the street. Here the boys hailed a passing taxicab that was empty, and ordered the driver to take them as quickly as possible to the Outlook Hotel.
"It certainly is a queer story," said Dick, who had just arrived from the office, "but it may be true. People do queer things sometimes, especially when they are under the influence of liquor. He probably had a grudge against Miss Harrow, and thought the disappearance of the ring would get her into trouble, just as he said."
"Oh, I hope they do find the ring!" cried Tom. "It will be great news for Nellie."
It was arranged that Andy Royce should accompany Dick and Sam to the smoking room of the hotel, and remain there until Tom had telegraphed to Hope Seminary and received a reply.
"You had better run upstairs and see Dora first," suggested Dick, "and make sure as to who is in charge at the seminary. If there are two persons there, you had better telegraph to both of them so that they can unite in looking for the ring."
Dora was in a flutter of excitement when told of what had occurred. She remembered about Miss Parsons, and said that there was also a housekeeper named Mrs. Lacy in charge. Armed with this information Tom sent off two telegrams, each reading as follows:
"Look for missing diamond ring in Miss Harrow's red-ink inkwell. If found, answer at once.Thomas Rover,"Outlook Hotel,"New York City."
"Look for missing diamond ring in Miss Harrow's red-ink inkwell. If found, answer at once.
Thomas Rover,"Outlook Hotel,"New York City."
"They were mighty funny telegrams to send," said Tom, when he rejoined his brothers in the hotel smoking room. "Perhaps they won't know what to make of them."
"I am afraid we'll have to wait quite a while for an answer," returned Dick.
"Oh, I don't know. They can telephone the messages up to the seminary from the telegraph office."
"They'll find the ring just as I said unless somebuddy cleaned out the inkwell and took it," declared Andy Royce, who was rapidly sobering up because of the turn of affairs.
As it was getting late, it was decided that Dick should go to dinner with Dora as usual, while Tom and Sam took the former gardener to a corner of the restaurant for something to eat.
"I don't feel much like filling up," said Sam. "I'm on pins and needles about an answer to those messages you sent, Tom."
"Exactly the way I feel, Sam. But we'll have to have patience, I suppose."
The meal at an end, Dora went upstairs, and Dick rejoined his brothers and Andy Royce in the smoking room. Tom had left word at the hotel telegraph office that any message which might come in for hire must be delivered at once.
"Here comes a bellboy now!" cried Dick, presently.
"Mr. Rover! Mr. Rover!" cried the boy, walking from one group of persons to another.
"Here you are! here you are, boy!" cried Tom, leaping up; and in another moment he had a telegram in his hand and was tearing it open to see what it contained.
"Who is it from, Tom?"
"Read it out loud!"
Such were the exclamations from Sam and Dick as their brother scanned the telegram in haste.
"Hurrah! they've found it!" broke out Tom. "This is the best yet!"
"Good!"
"Fine!"
"This is from Miss Clara Parsons," went on Tom, "the teacher who owned the ring. Here, you can read the telegram if you want to," and he passed the sheet over. The message ran as follows:
"Ring found in inkwell. Perfect condition. Did Miss Laning put it there?"Clara Parsons."
"Ring found in inkwell. Perfect condition. Did Miss Laning put it there?
"Clara Parsons."
"Short and sweet, but it tells the story," was Dick's comment. "Say, I'm mighty glad of this," he added, and his face showed his pleasure. "That clears Nellie, Tom. You'll have to let her know at once."
"I sure will!" exclaimed the brother. "But say, did you notice what Miss Parsons wants to know—if Nellie put the ring in the inkwell? Talk about nerve!"
"You can't exactly blame her, Tom, because she knew nothing of Royce's visit to the office; and as you sent the message, and you and Nellie are so intimate."
"Oh, I understand, Dick; and I shan't blame her. I'm too happy to blame anybody," and Tom's face broke into a broad smile. "I'm going to send a telegram to Cedarville this minute."
"Didn't I tell you gents the ring was there?" broke in Andy Royce. "I told you the truth, didn't I?"
"You did, Royce," answered Dick.
"A'n' wot about it, are you goin' to lemme go?" questioned the former gardener, eagerly.
"Not just yet," broke in Tom.
"Why not? You can't hold me for stealin' when there wasn't nuthin' taken."
"That is true, Royce, but we want you to sign a confession as to just how that ring got in the inkwell. If you don't do that, the seminary authorities may still think it was placed there by Miss Laning."
"Oh, I don't want to put nuthin' off on Miss Laning's shoulders," answered the former gardener. "If you want a confession from me so as you can clear her, go ahead!"
"Wait here until I've sent that telegram," Tom said, hastily; and rushed off once more to the telegraph office, where he sent the following to Nellie:
"Ring recovered. Was hidden in inkwell by Royce. We have gardener's confession. Hurrah! Will write particulars."Tom."
"Ring recovered. Was hidden in inkwell by Royce. We have gardener's confession. Hurrah! Will write particulars.
"Tom."
"I hope she gets that before she goes to bed to-night," mused the youth. "If she does it will make her sleep so much better."
There was a stenographer's office attached to the Outlook Hotel, and late as it was, the young lady was found at her typewriter, pounding out a letter for a commercial traveler. As soon as this was finished, the stenographer was asked to take down whatever Andy Royce might have to tell. The former gardener was brought in, and repeated the confession he had previously made. This was typewritten as speedily as possible, and then Andy Royce signed the confession in the presence of one of the hotel clerks and a notary who lived at the hotel.
"Now I think that fixes it," said Tom. "Miss Parsons won't be able to go behind that confession."
"Are you goin' to let me go now?" asked the former gardener of Hope.
"Yes, you can go, Royce," answered Tom. "But wait a minute. How much money have you left of that ten dollars my brother's wife let you have?"
For reply the man dove down in his pocket, and brought out some change.
"Eighty-five cents."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"See here, if I stake you with another ten dollars, will you give me your word not to drink it up?"
"I will, Mr. Rover, I will!" exclaimed Andy Royce, earnestly.
"All right, then, here's the money;" and Tom brought out two five-dollar bills and placed them in the man's hands. "Now look here, unless you can find something to do, you come here and see me again in a few days."
"But see here, Tom," interposed Dick, in a low voice, "I don't think we can use Royce in anyway. Why not let him go? As a gardener he is out of place in a big city like New York."
"I want him to stay here for two reasons," answered Tom. "In the first place I want him on hand in case the authorities at the seminary need him. In the second place, I am going to put the matter squarely up to Miss Harrow. She thought Nellie guilty, and she may have thought Royce worse than he really was. Perhaps I can get her to give Royce another chance. I think he would be all right if he would only let drink alone."
"The same old warm-hearted Tom as of old!" responded Dick. "All right, have your own way about it."
After the former gardener had departed the boys went upstairs to join Dora, and then Tom and Sam sat down to write letters of explanation to Nellie and Grace; and these epistles were posted before the youths retired for the night.
"Oh, how glad Nellie must be to have this weight off her shoulders!" exclaimed Dora. "It must have been awful to be suspected of taking a ring."
"I guess Miss Harrow will be relieved, too," answered Tom. "I wonder where she is stopping in Asbury Park."
"I think I know," returned Dick's wife. "She and some of the other teachers usually go to the Claravale House."
"I'll take a chance and telegraph to her," went on Tom. "It won't cost much and it may relieve her mind. Those folks up at the seminary may wait to send a letter." And going downstairs once more, Tom wrote out another brief telegram, and asked that it be sent off immediately.
"If only we could clear up this mystery of the missing bonds as easily as we did this ring business!" came from Sam, when he and Tom had said good-night to Dick and his wife.
"I'm afraid that's not going to be so easy, Sam. Sometimes I think that we'll never hear a word more about those bonds;" and Tom heaved a deep sigh.
"Oh, but, Tom, if we don't get those bonds back we'll be in a hole!" cried the youngest Rover, in dismay.
"We may not be in a hole exactly, Sam; but we'll have a tough job of it pulling through," was the grim response.
Tom had worried more about the missing ring than he had been willing to admit to his brothers, and now that this was off his mind, he, on the following morning, pitched into business with renewed vigor. He and Dick had their hands full, going over a great mass of figures and calculations, and in deciding the important question of how to take care of certain investments. Sam did what he could to help them, although, as he frankly admitted, he did not take to bookkeeping or anything that smacked of high finances.
"I was not cut out for it, and that is all there is to it," he declared. "But I am willing to help you all I can."
Sam had gone off on an errand, leaving his brothers deep in their figures, when the office boy announced a visitor.
"Mr. Mallin Aronson," said Dick, glancing at the visitor's card. "Oh, yes, I've heard of him before. He and father had some stock dealings a year or so ago. Bring him in."
Mr. Aronson proved to be a small, dark-complexioned man, with heavy eyebrows and a heavily-bearded face. He bowed profoundly as he entered.
"Mr. Richard Rover, I believe?" he said, extending his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Aronson. And this is my brother Tom," returned Dick.
"Very glad to know you;" and the visitor bowed again. "I presume you know what brought me here," he went on, with a bland smile.
"I can't say that I do," returned Dick.
"Your father—is he not here?"
"No, he is at home sick."
"Is that so? I am very sorry to hear it. Then you are transacting his business for him?"
"Yes, my brother and I are running this business now."
"And yet you said you did not know why I had called," continued Mr. Aronson, in apparent astonishment. "That is strange. Did not your father tell you about his investment in the Sharon Valley Land Company?"
"I never heard of the company before," returned Dick, promptly.
"I heard my father mention it," put in Tom, "but I never knew that he had made any investment in it."
"What? How surprising!" ejaculated the visitor. "He has something like fifteen thousand dollars invested in that concern, for which I have the honor to be the agent. He has another payment to make on the investment, and that payment falls due just a week from to-day. Some time ago he asked me if that payment might not be deferred. I put it up to the managers of the company, and they have now sent me word that the payment will have to be made on the day that it falls due."
"And how much is that payment?" faltered Dick.
"Twenty thousand dollars."
Both of the Rover boys stared blankly at the visitor. His announcement had come very much like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky. For the moment neither of them knew what to say.
"I am sorry you did not know about this," pursued Mallin Aronson, when he saw by their looks how much they were disturbed. "Perhaps your dear father was taken sick so quickly that he did not have a chance to explain the situation."
"He hasn't been well for a long while, but I thought he had turned over all his business affairs to us," answered Dick. "It is queer that we have no record of this Sharon Valley Land Company investment," he added, turning to Tom.
"Have you gone over all the papers, Dick?" questioned the brother, quickly.
"The most of them. That is, all that I thought were of any importance. There are a great number that I haven't had time to look at yet. You know how numerous father's investments are."
"If you have no record of the transaction here, can you not ask your father about it?" questioned Mr. Aronson, smoothly.
"He is too sick to be disturbed, Mr. Aronson," answered Dick.
"Well, if you care to do so, you can stop at my office and look over the account there," went on the visitor.
"And you say this twenty thousand dollars has got to be paid a week from to-day?" asked Tom.
"Yes, Mr. Rover. The management will grant no extension of time."
"Supposing it isn't paid?" questioned Dick.
At this suggestion Mallin Aronson shrugged his shoulders and put up his hands.
"I am sorry, but you know how some of these land company people are," he returned. "This money must be paid in order to clear the land. If it is not cleared the company has the right to sell your father's interest to others. As I said before, he has paid fifteen thousand dollars. What his interest would bring if sold to somebody else, I do not know."
"Probably not very much," returned Dick, quickly. "Probably some of the land company people would buy it in for a song," he added, bitterly.
"Well, Mr. Rover, that is not my affair," and Mr. Aronson shrugged his shoulders. "I came in only to serve you notice that the twenty thousand dollars will have to be paid one week from to-day."
"Where are your offices, Mr. Aronson?"
"You will find my address on the card," was the answer. "If you wish any more information, I shall be pleased to give it to you;" and then the visitor bowed himself out.
It was a great blow, and the two youths felt it keenly. Ever since the loss of the sixty-four thousand dollars in bonds they had been struggling with might and main to cover one obligation after another. To do this had taxed about every resource that Dick could think of aside from borrowing from friends without putting up any security—something the youth shrank from doing.
"Say, Dick, this is fierce!" exclaimed Tom. "What are we going to do about it?"
"I don't know yet," was the slow reply. "I can't understand why father didn't mention this investment to me."
"He must have felt so sick that he forgot all about it. You don't imagine that there is anything wrong about it?"
"Oh, no! I guess it is all straight enough. Aronson must know that he couldn't get any such money out of us unless everything was as straight as a string."
"Perhaps Mr. Powell could get the twenty thousand dollars for us."
"Maybe he could. But that isn't the point, Tom. I told you before that we want to 'stand on our own bottom.' Besides, it isn't a fair thing to ask any one to put up money like that without offering good security."
"But we don't want to lose the fifteen thousand dollars that father has already invested."
"I know that, too. It's a miserable affair all around, isn't it?" And Dick sighed deeply.
When Sam came back from his errand he brought news that under ordinary circumstances would have interested his brothers very much.
"I was coming through Union Square Park when whom should I see on one of the benches but Josiah Crabtree!" he exclaimed.
"Crabtree!" cried Tom. "Then he must be out of the hospital at last! How did he look?"
"He looked very pale and thin, and he had a pair of crutches with him," answered Sam. "I didn't see him walk, but I suppose he must limp pretty badly, or he wouldn't have had the crutches."
"Did you speak to him?" questioned Dick.
"No. At first I thought I would do so, but he looked so down-and-out that I didn't have the heart to say anything and perhaps make him feel worse."
"Do you suppose he has any money?" asked Tom.
"He didn't look as if he had. But you never can tell with such fellows as Crabtree—he was a good deal of a miser."
"What a misspent life his has been!" was Dick's comment. "I am mighty glad that he didn't get the chance to marry Mrs. Stanhope."
"Right you are, Dick!" returned Tom. "He'd make a hard kind of a father-in-law to swallow!"
It did not take long for Dick and Tom to acquaint Sam with the new money problem that confronted them, and the youngest Rover became equally worried over the situation.
"I think we had better write to Uncle Randolph and see if he can find out a little about this land company affair from father without, of course, worrying him too much," suggested Dick. "There may be some loophole out of this trouble—although I am afraid there isn't."
"All right, we'll do it," said Tom, and the letter was written at once, and sent to Dexter's Corners with a special delivery stamp attached.
On the following afternoon when Tom and Sam got back to the hotel, a surprise awaited them. Going up to the suite occupied by Dick and Dora, the brothers found themselves confronted by Nellie and Grace.
"Oh, Tom!" was all Nellie could say. And then coming straight forward she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.
"Now—now, don't go on this way, Nellie," he stammered, not knowing what to say. "It's all right. They've got the ring and you are cleared. What's the use of crying about it now?"
"Oh, but—but I can't help it!" sobbed the girl. "You don't know how I have suffered! I couldn't sleep nights, or anything! Oh, Tom! it was grand—the way you got that gardener to confess;" and she clung to him tighter than ever.
"And to think he put the ring in the inkwell!" cried Grace. "What a ridiculous thing to do!"
"He must have done it on the spur of the moment," said Sam. "But say, I'm mighty glad that affair is cleared up!" he added, his face beaming.
Then all of the young folks sat down, and the story had to be told once more in all of its details.
"I just had to come on! I couldn't stay home after I got the telegram and the letter," explained Nellie, "so I sent a telegram to Dora."
"We planned to surprise you," put in Grace.
"And it is a surprise, and a nice one," returned Sam. Soon Dick, who had been somewhat detained, came in, and then there was more excitement.
"Well, what about accommodations for the girls?" asked Dick, who never forgot the practical side of matters.
"Oh, that is all arranged, Dick," answered his wife. "I have a room for them, and as your wife I am to be their chaperon;" and she smiled brightly as she passed her hand over his forehead. "Poor boy, with so much to do!" she added, affectionately.
It was a happy gathering, and for the time being the Rover boys did their best to forget their troubles. They had a somewhat elaborate dinner, and then Tom and Sam took the newcomers out for a walk up "The Great White Way." Dick said he would remain at the hotel with his wife, as he wanted to write some letters.
"Might as well let them have their fling," he said, after the others had departed. "That's the way we wanted it before we were married;" and he gave his wife a hug and a kiss.
Of course the girls from Cedarville had a great deal to tell, and Tom and Sam had a great deal to relate in return. The two couples strolled on and on, and it was near eleven o'clock before they returned to the Outlook Hotel.
"And so you are going to be a real business man, are you, Tom?" said Nellie, during the course of the walk.
"I am going to try to be, Nellie," he answered. "Of course it is something of a job for a fellow who is full of fun to settle down. I need help." And he looked at her wistfully.
"Oh, Tom, if you would only settle your mind——"
"There's no use in talking, Nellie, I won't be able to settle down in the really-and-truly fashion until I am married," retorted the fun-loving Rover. "You have got to be the one to settle me."
"Tom Rover, if you talk like that I'll box your ears!"
"All right, anything you say goes, Nellie. Only tell me, aren't we going to be married some time this Fall or Winter?"
"Tom!"
"Well, aren't we?"
"Oh, maybe. But you come on! We are out for a walk, and here we are standing stock-still in the middle of the sidewalk with folks all around us. Come on! If you don't come I will leave you;" and Nellie started on, dragging Tom with her.
Dick was at his desk sorting out his morning mail. He was rather downcast, for the past two days had brought no news regarding the missing bonds. On the other hand, he had received word from his uncle that the investment in the Sharon Valley Land Company was a perfectly legitimate one, and that Mr. Aronson's claim would have to be met.
"And how we are going to meet it, I don't know," said Dick, in speaking of the matter to his brothers. "It certainly is tough luck to have these obligations pouring in on us at just this time."
"Well, there is one bright spot in uncle's letter," returned Sam. "He says dad is feeling somewhat better. I am mighty glad of that."
"I guess we all are," broke in Tom. "Just the same, I agree with Dick. The financial outlook is mighty gloomy."
There were other letters besides business communications for the boys. Songbird had written, and so had Spud; and Dick had likewise a long epistle from Bart Conners, who in years gone by had been the young major of the Putnam Hall cadets. But just now Dick had no heart to read these communications. He felt that he must give his entire attention to the business in hand. One letter in a plain envelope was in a handwriting entirely unfamiliar to him. He cut open the envelope hastily to see what it might contain. A glance at the single sheet inside, and his face showed his interest.
"Look at this, boys!" he cried; and then read the following:
"'Look over your safe very carefully. You may discover something to your advantage.'"
"'Look over your safe very carefully. You may discover something to your advantage.'"
There was no signature.
"Who sent that?" came from Sam and Tom simultaneously.
"I don't know. It isn't signed."
"'Look over your safe very carefully. You may discover something to your advantage,'" repeated Tom. "Say! that looks as if somebody knew something about the robbery!" he went on, excitedly.
"We have looked over the safe a dozen times," returned Sam. "It hasn't furnished the slightest clew."
"We'll go over it again," broke in Dick, who had already left his desk and gone to the strong-box. He worked at the combination for a few moments, and pulled open the safe door.
"Maybe we ought to have a light here," suggested Tom. "It is rather dark in this corner."
"Wait, I can fix that," said Sam, and reaching for a droplight that hung over the desk, the youngest Rover commenced to unfasten the wire by which it was held in position. By this means he was able to shift the light so that it hung directly over the opening of the strong-box.
"Nothing unusual about the door or the combination that I can see," said Tom, after all had made a careful inspection.
"And the sides seem to be all right," added Sam. "Maybe it's the back or the bottom."
"If it wasn't so heavy we might be able to swing the safe around away from the wall," said Dick. "But wait, hold that light closer, Tom, and I'll see if I can find out anything from the inside."
Dick was now on his knees and feeling around the back of the safe with his hand. Presently he found a crack, and inserting his fingers he gave a push. Much to his astonishment a portion of the safe back slid upward.
"Hello, I've found something!" he ejaculated. "There is a hole in the back of this safe!"
"You don't say so!" cried Sam; and he and Tom peered into the steel box.
Then Dick continued to work around with his hand, and presently was able to slide another section of the safe back upward. He now found that he could touch a piece of board which evidently took the place of some plaster that had formed part of the office wall.
"There must be a small trap door there, leading to some place outside," said the oldest Rover boy. "We'll go into the hall and have a look."
It did not take the eager youths long to reach the hallway of the building, and once there, all three hurried to the spot where they thought the opening might be located. Soon they came to the little closet which the janitor had once mentioned to them—a small place in which was located a sink, and also a number of brooms, brushes, and cleaning cloths.
The closet was dark, but Dick had brought along a box of matches, and a light was quickly made. A corner containing some brooms and cloths was cleaned out, and the boys soon located a piece of board about eight inches square, covered with a sheet of tin painted the same color as the wall.
"It's as plain as daylight!" cried Tom. "The thief didn't have to open the safe door at all. He simply came in here, removed that board, slid up the back section of the safe, and took out what he wanted."
"And the fellow who did it——" broke in Sam.
"Was either Pelter or Japson," finished Dick.
"Then you think this letter came from——" Tom started to say.
"That young fellow whose life you saved—Barton Pelter," answered Dick.
"By the rudder to Noah's Ark, I think you are right!" burst out Tom. "Why, it's as plain as the nose on your face! Don't you remember how worried Barton Pelter looked when we told him the bonds were missing, and how he asked us at the moving picture show if we had gotten them back yet? More than likely he knew how this safe was fixed—he used to come here, you know, to see his uncle——"
"I believe you're right, Tom," came from Sam, "because if he didn't do it, who did?"
"I think I can make sure of this," returned Tom. "Let us go back to the offices."
Tom had taken possession of one of the desks in the place, and in one of the pigeonholes he had placed a number of letters, including the one received while at college from Jesse Pelter's nephew. This he now brought forth, and compared the handwriting with that of the letter just received.
"It's the same hand," he affirmed. And after an examination the brothers agreed with him.
"If Barton Pelter wrote that letter we ought to locate him without delay," was Sam's comment. "He may know just where the missing bonds are."
"Or else where we can locate his uncle and Japson."
"Wait a minute!" cried Dick. "You forget that Japson has been away from New York for some time. The detective told me that, and said it was positive. So that would seem to put the thing off on Pelter's shoulders; and I think Pelter is just the man to do such a thing. You'll remember how bitter he was against us when we exposed him."
"Then let us locate Jesse Pelter without delay," broke in Tom. "It ought to be easy, unless he is in hiding."
"If he's got our bonds he'll certainly do his best to keep out of our way," returned Dick, grimly. "I think the best we can do first of all is to locate Barton Pelter and make him tell us all he knows."
"He said he had a chance of a position as a traveling salesman."
"Did he say for whom?"
"He mentioned 'The Consolidated Cream Cracker Company,' whatever that is."
"Let us call them up and find out," said Dick.
By consulting the telephone directory, the boys were soon in communication with the cracker company in question. They were informed that Barton Pelter had been taken on as a salesman the day before, and had left that evening for a trip through the Middle West. It was not known on what train he had departed.
"Nothing doing here," said Tom. "They don't even seem to know what town he is going to stop at first."
"I think we had better call up Mr. Bronson, and tell him about this and put him on the trail of the Pelters," answered Dick.
The detective was as astonished as the boys had been when he saw the hole in the back of the safe.
"This is certainly one on me," he confessed, frankly. "I looked that safe over very carefully, too. I should have discovered that;" and his face showed his chagrin.
Then he was told about the Pelters and about Japson, and he agreed with the Rovers that he had best try to locate Barton Pelter and his uncle without delay.
"I'll put a man on the trail of the young fellow who went West," he said, "and as soon as he sends me any word regarding Jesse Pelter I'll go after that fellow, and I'll also let you know what I'm doing;" and so it was arranged.
When the boys arrived at the hotel that evening the girls had much to tell them. Nellie had received a letter from Miss Harrow, in which the teacher had frankly begged her pardon for having suspected the girl of taking the diamond ring.
"It is a lovely letter," said Nellie. "I never thought that she could humble herself in that fashion."
"I've got an idea; in fact, I've had it for some time," came from Tom. "I had Royce in this afternoon to see me. He is very anxious to get work. I've half a notion to ask you to write to Miss Harrow and see if they won't take the fellow back at the seminary."
"I am willing to write such a letter, Tom," answered the girl. "And if they won't take Royce back, perhaps I can get my father to give him work at our farm; although I know he is more of a gardener than he is a farmer."
But the most important news the two girls and Dick's wife had to tell was that on a shopping tour after lunch they had walked into Josiah Crabtree.
"We came face to face with him in front of a show window," explained Dick's wife. "I was so startled for the minute that I did not know what to say. Oh, Dick! he was on crutches, and he did look so pale and thin I couldn't help but feel sorry for him!"
"He has evidently suffered a great deal," put in Grace. "In fact, he said as much. He seemed to be utterly downcast. He didn't look like the dictatorial teacher he used to be at all."
"What did he have to say?" questioned Sam.
"Oh, he was quite confused at first, but he did ask about Dora's mother—if she was well—and then he said he understood that you three were going into business together. He said he hoped you would be successful."
"The idea of old Crabtree saying that!" burst out Tom. "It's enough to make a fellow think the end of the world is coming."
"Did he say what he was doing, or what he proposes to do?" questioned Dick.
"He said he had received a tentative offer of a position in a boys' school in Maine," answered Nellie, "but he did not know whether he was going to take it or not. My idea is that he is too poor to even go to Maine. And he had on such an old, rusty, black suit!"
"Say! Did he say where he was stopping?" questioned Dick, eagerly, struck by a sudden idea.
"No, he did not."
"Too bad! I'd like to see him as soon as possible."
"Why, what's up now, Dick?" questioned Sam.
"I want to ask him if he knows anything about Jesse Pelter—where the fellow has gone to."
"It isn't likely. I don't think those two parted the best of friends."
"Most likely not. Still Crabtree may know where Pelter keeps himself."
"I'll tell you what you might do, Dick," suggested Tom. "You might send Crabtree a couple of letters, one addressed to the General Delivery here, and another simply addressed to New York City; then you'll run two chances of striking him."
"I'll do that," answered the older brother; and sent off the communications without delay. In each of them he asked Josiah Crabtree to call at his offices as soon as possible.
"Do you think you can make him open up if he comes?" questioned Sam.
"I think so—that is if I make it worth his while. If Crabtree is down on his luck he will most likely be willing to do anything for money."
Two days went by, and the boys waited anxiously for some word from the detective in regard to the whereabouts of the Pelters. But no word came in, and they were as downcast as ever. In the meanwhile Dick, aided by the others, stirred around as best he could in an endeavor to take care of their finances.
"I've got the small things all taken care of," Dick said to Tom and Sam, on the evening of the second day. "But what I am going to do about that twenty thousand dollars we must pay the Sharon Valley Land Company, and that other claim Mr. Powell spoke about, I don't know. It looks to me as if we were going to get into a hole, unless I'm able to get some of our friends to help us out."
The one bright spot on the horizon was the news received from home, which was to the effect that their father's health was improving. He had gone downstairs and walked around the garden, and also taken a short ride in the automobile. Moreover, his mind seemed to be much brighter than it had been for a long while past.
On the following morning, when the three youths were at the offices discussing the situation, Bob Marsh came in.
"A man to see you," announced the office boy. "A man on crutches named Crabtree."
"Show him in!" exclaimed Dick. And then he added hastily to his brothers in a lower tone: "Now let me engineer this, please. I think I know how to handle him."
"Go ahead, Dick," responded Tom; and Sam nodded.
Josiah Crabtree hobbled in on his crutches, with his hat in his hand. Evidently he was weak and nervous. His thin face had lost much of its former shrewdness and cunning, and he looked quite downcast.
"Good morning, young gentlemen," he said, in a somewhat cracked voice. "You sent me a letter. I just got it at the post-office."
"Sit down, Mr. Crabtree," returned Dick, and offered the former teacher of Putnam Hall a chair.
"Thank you." Josiah Crabtree sank down on the seat, resting his crutches against his knee. "You have the same offices that Pelter, Japson & Company had, I perceive," he continued, allowing his eyes to rove around.
"Yes, Mr. Crabtree," answered Dick. "By the way, do you know where Mr. Pelter is just now?"
"You said you wanted to see me about some particular business," said the former teacher. "Perhaps we had better get at that first."
"Well, I might as well admit, Mr. Crabtree, that what I wanted to see you about is this. I want to know if you can tell me where Mr. Jesse Pelter is just now."
"Oh, is that all!" And Josiah Crabtree's face showed his disappointment.
"That is all at present."
"Humph! Supposing I don't care to tell you where he is?"
"Now see here!" pursued Dick, earnestly. "If I understand matters aright, Mr. Crabtree, Jesse Pelter is no longer a friend of yours. When you went to the hospital he practically deserted you, isn't that right?"
"If is!" exclaimed the former teacher, bitterly. "He left me in the lurch, and not only that, he didn't give me the money that was rightfully coming to me."
"Exactly so! Now then, why shouldn't you help us to locate him?"
"Well—er—well—er—supposing I did help you?" returned Josiah Crabtree, hesitatingly.
"If you will do that, Mr. Crabtree, I'll make it well worth your while," responded Dick, quickly. "I may as well admit to you that we wish to get hold of Mr. Pelter as soon as possible. We want him to clear up a certain transaction. If you can put me into communication with him to-day, I'll give you fifty dollars."
At the mention of fifty dollars Josiah Crabtree's eyes lit up. Evidently he had not seen that amount of money for some time.
"You'll give me fifty dollars?" he repeated.
"I will."
"There is no fooling about this, Rover?"
"Mr. Crabtree, did I ever deceive you?" And Dick looked the former teacher squarely in the eyes.
"I don't think you did, Rover. So you want to find Jesse Pelter, and you'll give me fifty dollars if I'll help you do it? All right, I'll take you up. I don't think Pelter is aware that I know where he is, but I do;" and Josiah Crabtree smiled grimly.
"Where is he?"
"He told Japson that he was going down East, most likely to Boston. But he didn't do any such thing; he hung around New York for awhile and then he went to Philadelphia, and he's down there now, I am thinking, unless he took a boat for Europe."
"What? Was he going from Philadelphia to Europe?" broke in Tom.
"So I understood. Although why he didn't go from New York is a mystery—the service is so much better."
"Have you any idea where he is stopping in Philadelphia?" questioned Dick.
"He usually stopped with a distant relative of his—a man named Crowley Pelter."
"Then that's all I want to know for the present, Mr. Crabtree," announced Dick. "If we can locate him I'll let you know and then the fifty dollars will be yours."
"How soon are you going to look for the man?" asked the former teacher, curiously.
"At once," was Dick's quick reply. "Leave me your address, and as soon as we hear anything I'll let you know." And a few minutes later the boys brought the interview to an end.
"Now to find out where Crowley Pelter lives!" said Dick.
The train carrying the three Rover boys from New York to Philadelphia was rolling into the big, smoky station. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the youths had dined on the train while making the journey. They had left the offices in charge of Bob Marsh, stating that they would most likely be away for the rest of the day. At first Dick and Tom had thought to leave Sam behind, but the latter had insisted on going along. It had been a two hours' run to the Quaker City.
"Let's look at a telephone directory," suggested Tom.
"Oh, you don't want to telephone to him, do you?" queried Sam. "That might put Jesse Pelter on his guard."
"We won't telephone, we'll simply look for the address," answered his brother.
But there proved to be no Crowley Pelter in the telephone directory, so the boys had to consult a regular directory. They found that the man lived quite a distance out, in the Germantown section.
"Let's hire a taxi, and get out there as fast as we can," suggested Dick. Now that they were actually on the trail of the missing broker he was anxious to bring the pursuit to an end.
Outside the railroad station taxicabs were numerous, and the boys quickly hired one of the best of the machines and gave the driver directions where to go.
"And don't lose any time," ordered Dick.
"I'll run as fast as I dare," returned the chauffeur.
The ride to Crowley Pelter's residence took a good three-quarters of an hour. The place was a small but well-kept one on a corner.
"I guess I had better go in alone," suggested Dick. "If I need you I'll whistle or wave my handkerchief;" and then he ran up the front steps and rang the bell. A tall, angular woman, wearing large spectacles, soon answered his summons.
"Good afternoon," said Dick, politely. "Is this Mr. Crowley Pelter's residence?"
"Yes, sir."
"I believe Mr. Jesse Pelter is staying here. Can I see him?" went on Dick.
"Mr. Jesse Pelter was staying here, but he has just gone—he went about an hour ago."
"Is that so!" cried Dick. "Can you tell me where he went to?"
"Well, I—er—I don't know," faltered the woman, and eyed Dick sharply.
"I have a very important message for him," Dick hastened to say. "I must see him at once."
"Oh, in that case you'll find him down at the docks. He has engaged passage on thePrincess Lenidabound for Liverpool."
"And when does thePrincess Lenidasail?" asked Dick, quickly.
"I don't know exactly. Either this afternoon or to-morrow morning."
"And you are sure he has gone to the steamer?"
"Oh, yes. He sent his baggage off this morning, and he said he would not be back."
"Thank you, Madam." And without another word Dick turned and left the residence.
As he did this he saw a man he knew hurrying along the street. The man stopped when he caught sight of Dick and the two boys in the taxicab.
"Why, you here, Mr. Bronson?" cried Dick.
"Hello! how in the world did you fellows get here!" exclaimed the detective the Rovers had hired but a short time before. "Are you on the trail of Pelter, too?"
"We are," answered Dick. "How did you learn he had been here?"
"Had been! Do you mean to say he has left?"
"Yes. The woman who came to the door told me he had left about an hour ago. He is going to sail on thePrincess Lenidafor Liverpool either this afternoon or to-morrow morning."
"Say, then we want to get after him at once!" cried the detective.
"I agree on that," answered Dick. He turned to the chauffeur. "Do you know the dock from which thePrincess Lenidasails?" he questioned.
"Sure I do! I've been there many a time," answered the taxicab driver.
"Then take us there just as quickly as you can," said Dick. "Never mind the speed laws. If you are held up we will pay the fine."
"We won't be held up—not if I show this," said the detective, and exhibited the badge pinned to his vest. Then Dick and Mr. Bronson jumped into the taxicab, and away the turnout went at top speed back to the heart of the city.
"How did you get here?" questioned Tom, of the detective while riding along.
"As I said I would, I got into communication with one of our men out West, and he went after that Barton Pelter. He got him in Dayton, and made him confess that he had sent that note to you. Then he told our man that his uncle was most likely here in Philadelphia; so I came on at once to see if I could locate the man."
"If only we can catch him before he sails!" cried Sam.
"Oh, we've got to do it!" put in Tom.
Soon the taxicab reached the crowded thoroughfares of Philadelphia. They made several turns, crossing the track of the street cars, and finally came to a halt near the river front.
"There's the dock you want," said the chauffeur, pointing with his hand.
"Is that thePrincess Lenida?"questioned Dick, quickly, indicating the upper works of a steamer, which could be seen over the dock buildings.
"I think so, sir."
"Come on, then!" cried Tom. "Sam, you pay the fellow, will you?"
"All right!" was the quick reply. And then Tom and Dick hurried after Mr. Bronson, who was already entering the dock building.
Had they been alone the Rovers might have had some difficulty in gaining entrance to the dock; but the detective led the way, showing his badge; and soon the party found themselves at the gang-plank of the steamer. Here Sam rejoined them.
From the purser they learned that Jesse Pelter had engaged stateroom Number 148.
"But I can't say if he is aboard or not," said the steamer official. "You see, we are not to sail until nine o'clock to-morrow morning. There was some talk of sailing this afternoon, but we have been delayed. Do you want me to send to the stateroom for you?"
"Oh, no, we'll go there ourselves," returned the detective, quickly. "I don't want to alarm him if I can help it."
"I guess you are after him," said the purser, grimly.
"We certainly are!" answered Tom.
It was an easy matter to locate stateroom Number 148, which was on the main deck forward. The entrance was in a narrow passageway, and close at hand was a door opening on a narrow walkway between the staterooms and the ship's rail.
"Wait a moment," whispered the detective, and stepped outside. He was now close to a shuttered window of the stateroom engaged by Jesse Pelter.
From the room came a murmur of voices, and without speaking further the detective motioned for the Rover boys to join him beside the window. Although the slatted shutter was up, evidently the glass of the window had been let down its full length, for those outside could hear what was said within with ease.
"That proposition is all right as far as it goes," they heard, in Jesse Pelter's voice. "But I can't see, Haywood, where you ought to have fifty per cent. of the returns."
"I do!" answered somebody else—evidently the man called Haywood. "I'm running all the risk, it seems to me."
"Not so very much of a risk," went on Jesse Pelter. "Sixty thousand dollars' worth of those bonds are unregistered."
"All very true. But for all you know the numbers may be advertised as stolen. If so, I may get pinched when I offer them."
"Not if you are careful and work the thing in the right kind of a way," pursued the former broker.
"Well, I'll tell you what I'll do," returned Haywood. "I'll take a third and not a dollar less. Now let us go over the bonds and check them up," he continued. And then followed a rustling of numerous papers.
"Don't you think we have heard enough?" whispered Dick, to the detective.
"All that is necessary, Mr. Rover," was the answer. "Stand close by me," the detective continued, "and be prepared to rush them the instant the door is opened."
Having thus spoken, Mr. Bronson stepped back through the passageway, and knocked sharply on the stateroom door.
"Who's there?" came in nervous tones from Jesse Pelter.
"A telegram for Mr. Pelter!" cried the detective, in a high-pitched, boyish voice.
"Oh!" came from within; and then the key was turned in the lock, and the door was opened several inches.
The next instant the detective threw his weight against the barrier, and forced it back. He leaped into the stateroom, and the three Rover boys followed him.
"Hi, what does this mean?" cried Jesse Pelter, as he was forced backward against a washstand.
"It means that your game is up, Pelter!" cried Tom.
"We've caught you just as we wanted to!" added Dick.
"And you're not going to get away either," came from Sam, as he managed to close the stateroom door and put his back against it.
Mr. Bronson had said nothing. He held the former broker with one hand, and produced a pair of handcuffs with the other. Then came a double click, and Jesse Pelter found himself handcuffed.
"See here, you let me out of this!" stormed the man named Haywood. "I haven't done anything wrong. You let me go!" And he started for the door.
"Not much! You stay where you are!" cried Tom, and gave the fellow a shove which sent him sprawling backward over a berth.
In the meanwhile Dick's quick eyes had located the japanned box partly filled with the missing bonds. Other bonds lay on the berth and on the floor. The oldest Rover boy lost no time in gathering up the precious documents, and placed them in the box.
"I tell you I want you to let me go!" spluttered Haywood. "I haven't done anything wrong!"
"See here, Grimes," broke in the detective, sternly, "you sit right where you are. I know you, and you ought to know me;" and the detective took a step forward and looked the man full in the face.
"Oliver Bronson!" murmured the man who had agreed to dispose of the stolen bonds. "How did you get onto this game?"
"You'll find out about that later, Grimes."
"Is his name Grimes?" questioned Tom.
"That's one of his names. He is also known as Haywood, and likewise Slippery Peter. He used to work in Pittsburgh and Washington; but I heard some time ago that he was trying his games on in Philadelphia."
"See here, Rover, can't we—er—fix this little matter up somehow?" faltered Jesse Pelter.
"We can, and we will—in court," answered Dick, coldly.
"Oh, but see here——"
"Don't waste your breath, Pelter. We let you go on those other charges, but we are not going to let you go on this one," interrupted Dick. "This was a downright steal, and you have got to take the consequences. Mr. Bronson, what do you want to do with them?"
"One of you had better call in a policeman," returned the detective. "Then we'll take them to headquarters. I think this is quite a catch," he continued. "The authorities have been trying to fasten something on Grimes for a long while."
"Humph! You haven't fastened this on me yet," growled the sharper mentioned.
"Don't worry. You'll get what's coming to you," returned the detective.
Sam slipped out, and in a few minutes returned with a policeman. Then a call was sent in for a patrol wagon, and in this the entire party was taken to the police station. A formal charge was entered against the two criminals, and they were led away to separate cells. Then came several formalities before Dick and his brothers were allowed to take possession of the japanned box with its precious contents. The bonds were gone over with care, and it was ascertained that not one was missing.
"Oh, this is great!" cried Tom, his face beaming. "I feel like dancing a jig."
"So do I," returned Sam. "Dick, don't you think we had better send word to New York?"
"Oh, we'll take the next train back, Sam, and surprise the girls," answered the oldest brother.
"I'll remain behind in Philadelphia, and take charge of this case," said Mr. Bronson. "Now that you have your bonds back, I suppose you'll want to fix up some of those financial matters that you mentioned."
"We certainly do," answered Dick.
And after a few words more, the boys bade the detective good-bye, and hurried to take a train back to the metropolis.
"And you got back all the bonds, Dick? How, splendid!"
It was Dora who uttered the words, shortly after the arrival at the Outlook Hotel of the three Rovers. Dick had had the japanned box under his arm, and now held it up in triumph.
"Yes, we've got them all back, and those that don't go to the bank as collateral security for a loan are going to a safe deposit box," answered Dick. "I won't take any more chances with an office safe."
"Especially not that office safe," put in Sam, pointedly.
"And what are you going to do with Jesse Pelter?" questioned Nellie.
"We are going to put him where he belongs—in prison," answered Tom. And it may be as well to state here that in due course of time Jesse Pelter and his partner in crime, Grimes,aliasHaywood, were tried and sentenced to long terms in prison. At this trial it was brought to light that Barton Pelter had known about the hole in the back of the safe, but had had absolutely nothing to do with the taking of the bonds. Jesse Pelter was very bitter against his nephew for exposing him, but the Rovers told the young man that he had done exactly right, and he said that he thought so, too. As soon as the trial was over Barton Pelter returned to the Middle West, where he did fairly well as a traveling salesman for the cracker company.
The next few days following the recovery of the bonds proved busy ones for the Rovers. Some of the bonds were put up at a bank as collateral security for a substantial loan, and with this money Dick took care of the Sharon Valley Land Company investment, and also the investment brought to his attention by Mr. Powell.
"Now we are on the straight road once more!" declared Dick, after these matters and a number of others had been cleared up.
"And I'm mighty glad of it," returned Tom, with a beaming face. "I think we all ought to go off and celebrate. What's the matter with a trip to Coney Island, or something like that?"
"Wow! I thought he was going to suggest a honeymoon trip for himself and Nellie," cried Sam, mischievously.
"Say, young man, don't get so previous!" retorted Tom, growing red in the face. "Just the same, that's coming a little later," he added, quickly.
"Provided Nellie is willing," went on the youngest Rover, teasingly.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, Sam. By the looks of things you'll be in the same boat some day."
"Well, a fellow might do worse," answered Sam, coolly.
The days to follow were full of combined business and pleasure for the boys. When they were not at the office they were with the girls, and all took numerous trips to various places of amusement in and out of the metropolis. As was to be expected, Tom was the life of the party, and the way he "cut up" was "simply awful," as Nellie declared.
"Well, I can't help it," was the way the fun-loving Rover explained his actions. "I've got to let off steam or 'bust,'" and then he did a few steps of a jig, finishing by catching Nellie up in his arms and whirling her around in the air.
Of course the boys had lost no time in sending word to the folks at Valley Brook Farm that all business complications had been straightened out, and that everything at the offices was running smoothly. In return came back word that Mr. Anderson Rover was feeling stronger than ever, and hoped ere long to be well enough to visit the city.
"But I don't expect to do much in business," wrote Mr. Rover. "I am going to leave that entirely to Dick and Tom. I understand that Tom expects before a great while to get married, and when that happens I want to form The Rover Company, and take him and Dick in with me, Sam, of course, to come in later, after he has finished at college, although he won't have to take an active part unless he wishes to do so. My best love to all of you, and may you have no more trouble."
"But I don't expect to do much in business," wrote Mr. Rover. "I am going to leave that entirely to Dick and Tom. I understand that Tom expects before a great while to get married, and when that happens I want to form The Rover Company, and take him and Dick in with me, Sam, of course, to come in later, after he has finished at college, although he won't have to take an active part unless he wishes to do so. My best love to all of you, and may you have no more trouble."
"Dear old dad!" murmured Tom, when he had perused this communication, and for a moment his voice grew husky and his eyes moist.
Now that it had been definitely settled that Tom and Nellie were going to be married, Sam wanted to know if the date couldn't be set early enough so that he could be on hand before returning to Brill. This bolstered up Tom's plea for an early ceremony, and it was decided that the wedding should come off the first week in September.
Then followed great preparations on the part of Nellie and the others. Mrs. Laning and Mrs. Stanhope came down to New York, and numerous shopping tours were instituted, in which the boys had no part. Then the Lanings and Mrs. Stanhope returned to Cedarville, and Tom and Sam went back to the farm.
During those days, as busy as they were, Nellie and Tom had not forgotten Andy Royce. Letters had been exchanged between the young folks and those in authority at Hope Seminary, and at last it was arranged that the gardener should be taken back and given another chance. He promised faithfully to give up drinking.
The Rover boys had also had several visits from Josiah Crabtree. They had found out that the former teacher of Putnam Hall was practically down and out, and, although he was not deserving of their sympathy, all felt sorry for him, and so not only did they give him the fifty dollars as Dick had promised, but they also presented him with a new outfit of clothing. Then Josiah Crabtree departed, to accept the position as a teacher which had been offered to him.
"Where are you going to live after you are married, Tom?" questioned Sam. "Are you going to the Outlook Hotel, too?"
"Not much, no hotel life for me!" returned Tom. "Nellie and I talked it over with Dora and Dick, and we have taken an apartment together on Riverside Drive, a pretty spot overlooking the Hudson River. We are going to keep house together, and we'll all be 'as snug as a bug in a rug.'"
"Oh, that will be fine!"
"Some day, Sam, I suppose we'll be taking in you and Grace," went on Tom, with a grin. "Well, we'll do it even if we have to get a larger apartment."
It had been decided that the wedding should take place in the Cedarville Union Church—a little stone edifice where Dick and Dora had been married, and which for years had been the church home of the Lanings and the Stanhopes. Nellie and Tom had a host of friends, and it was a question how so many could be accommodated in such a small building.
"Well, if they can't get in, they'll have to stand outside," said Tom, when talking the matter over. "We'll do the best we can." And then the invitations to the affair were addressed and sent out.
As was to be expected, the wedding presents were both numerous and costly, rivalling those received by Dora and Dick. Mr. Anderson Rover duplicated the silver service given to his oldest son, and Dick and Sam joined in forwarding a handsomely decorated dinner set. As Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha had given Dick a set of encyclopedias, they sent other books to Nellie, but not forgetting a specially-bound volume of the uncle's book on scientific farming. In addition to all this came a bankbook from Mr. Anderson Rover with an amount written therein that was the duplicate of the amount he had presented to Dora and Dick.
"I knew he'd do it, Nellie," said Tom, when, with their heads close together, the pair looked at the bankbook. "It's just like dad."
"It's too perfectly splendid for anything, Tom!" returned the girl, her eyes beaming. "When I get the chance I'm just going to hug him to death!"
Nellie and Grace had always been Mrs. Stanhope's favorite nieces, and now that lady sent a set of beautifully embroidered linen, some of which had been in the Stanhope family for several generations. And to this gift Mr. and Mrs. Laning added some cut glass dishes of the latest design. Then came from Captain Putnam of the school which the boys had attended so many years, a revolving bookstand, and with it a box of books, each volume from some particular youth who in the past had been a cadet at Putnam Hall—twenty-four volumes in all, each with a name in it that brought up all sorts of memories to Tom as he read it.
"One of the nicest gifts the Old Guard could have given me!" was Tom's comment. "It must have been some job to get that set of books together. Why, some of those fellows are miles and miles away! They are scattered all over the United States."
Many of the students at Hope had remembered Nellie, and even Miss Harrow sent her a small water-color picture. From the boys of Brill came half a dozen presents—some useful and some ornamental. Even Tom's former enemy, Dan Baxter, who was now his friend, had not forgotten him, and sent a pair of napkin rings, suitably engraved. Tom's own present to his bride was a magnificent diamond brooch, which pleased Nellie immensely.
And then came the great day, full of sunshine and with a gentle breeze blowing from the West. Tom and his family, including his father, who now felt almost as strong as ever, were located at the old Stanhope home with a number of their friends, while many of Nellie's relatives and friends were stopping with the Lanings at their farm. Other friends of both the young folks were located at the Cedarville Hotel.
To follow the time set by Dick and Dora, it had been decided to hold the wedding at high noon. As before, the church was decorated with palms brought up from Ithaca. Soon the guests began to assemble, until the little edifice was crowded to its capacity. Captain Putnam was there in full uniform, and with him over a score of cadets. From Brill came at least a dozen collegians led by Spud and Stanley. Even William, Philander Tubbs was on hand, in a full-dress suit of the latest pattern, and with a big chrysanthemum in his buttonhole. There were several bridesmaids led by Grace, while Sam was Tom's best man. The wedding party was preceded by, a little flower girl, and a little boy beside her who carried the wedding rings on a pillow.
Nellie was on her father's arm, daintily attired in white charmeuse with her tulle veil trimmed in orange blossoms, and her girl friends declared that she was the prettiest bride they had ever seen. The ceremony was a short one, and at the conclusion Tom gave his bride such a hearty smack that every one present had to smile.
"A fine wedding, don't you know!" was William Philander Tubbs' comment, when a number of the guests were on their way to the Laning home, in carriages and automobiles.
"Yes. And Tom has got a fine girl!" answered Songbird.
"Where's the poetry for the occasion, Songbird?" queried Stanley.
"Oh, I am reserving that for the wedding dinner," was the answer. And it may be mentioned here that at the proper time the would-be poet recited an original poem of half a dozen verses, written in honor of the occasion.
"Say, Dick, we've got to give Tom a send-off," whispered Sam to his big brother, after the Laning home had been reached.
"We sure will give him a send-off!" returned Dick, who had not forgotten what had taken place when he and Dora had departed on their honeymoon.
"I wish I didn't have to go back to Brill," went on the youngest Rover, rather wistfully, and with a sigh.
"Oh, your term at college will soon come to an end, Sam. You may have lots of fun." What fun Sam did have, and what further befell the boys will be related in the next volume of this series, to be entitled "The Rover Boys on a Tour; Or, Last Days at Brill College."
The wedding dinner, participated in by all the relatives and a great number of friends, was a huge success. An orchestra had been engaged for the occasion, and after the meal there was dancing by the young folks for several hours, both indoors and on the broad veranda of the homestead.
"Where are you going on your wedding tour, Tom?" asked Spud.
"We haven't decided yet," was the quick reply. "We're thinking something of going to the north pole, but we may go to the moon instead;" and at this answer there was a general laugh.
"They are going to slip away if they can," was Sam's comment to half a dozen of his chums, a little later. "We'll have to be on our guard."
All of the young folks had provided themselves with rice, confetti, old shoes, and strips of white ribbon with which to celebrate the occasion—the ribbon being for the purpose of decorating the young couple's baggage. Sam had also provided a placard which read:"Are we happy? We are!"and this was nailed to Tom's trunk.
"Where are they?"
This was the cry that went up in the middle of one of the dances. Tom had slipped off into a side room, and Nellie had followed. Now both of the young folks were missing.
"They are going out the back way!" cried Dick.
"Everybody watch the stairs and the doors!" exclaimed Sam. "We mustn't let them get away from us!"
There was a general scramble, commingled with shrieks of laughter as the young folks did their best to locate the missing couple. Then of a sudden came a wild toot from an automobile horn.
"There they are!"
"Come on, everybody!"
There followed a wild scramble from the house to the lane leading to the roadway. In the lane was an automobile belonging to the Cedarville garage, and run by a chauffeur. On the back seat were Tom and Nellie, waving their hands gaily.
"Good-bye, everybody! Sorry we have to leave you so soon!" yelled Tom.