“Good-by, boys. I wish all of you the best of luck.”
It was Colonel Colby who spoke as he shook hands with the Rover boys and a number of the other cadets.
“Good-by, Colonel. I hope we see you again some time,” returned Jack.
“You must come and visit us at our home when you can get time,” put in Fred.
“I will certainly come when I can get away,” was the reply from the master of the school.
Breakfast was at an end and all was bustle and confusion as the cadets were hurrying in all directions, suitcases in hand, ready to leave the Hall. Many were going away in automobiles which lined one side of the campus drive. Others were to go to the Haven Point railroad station. A motor truck had already taken two loads of trunks away and was now back for a third.
“Good-by, fellows!” cried Gif. “Hope you have a good time.” He and Spouter had arranged to go up on the coast of Maine with Dan Soppinger and their folks.
“Good-by!” cried the Rovers, and a few minutes later had entered the touring car which was to take them away.
“Here is something to remember us by!” shouted Spouter gayly, and threw a bunch of confetti over the Rovers.
“And here is something to remember me by!” yelled Andy, as the car moved away and he hurled an old shoe he had picked up at Spouter, catching that cadet in the stomach, causing him to give a grunt of surprise. Then the touring car rolled out of the grounds, all of the boys waving their hands as the place faded from their sight.
“Now it is good-by to Colby Hall and hurrah for a vacation!” exclaimed Fred. Then he added quickly: “Now then, Andy and Randy, where are we to go? Don’t keep me waiting any longer. I’m all on fire with suspense,” and the youngest Rover put on a tragic air.
“Wait till we pick up the girls,” pleaded Andy. “No use in going over the whole thing twice. They’ll want to know about it, anyway.”
It had already been arranged that Martha and Mary, along with Ruth, were to accompany the lads to New York City. Although the others did not know it, Jack went armed, having obtained the loan of a pistol from Colonel Colby, who had been told the particulars regarding the rascality of Carson Davenport.
“I feel that I am responsible for the safety of my sister and my cousin,” the young major had told the master of the school. “I want to be sure that they get home safely.” And thereupon Colonel Colby had somewhat reluctantly permitted Jack to take his own private nickel-plated pistol.
When the boys arrived at Clearwater Hall they found the three girls waiting for them. A few minutes later the whole crowd was off for the Haven Point railroad station.
“Have you seen or heard anything more of that man Davenport?” questioned Mary anxiously, as they rode along.
“Not a thing, Mary,” answered her brother. “Have you?”
“Two or three times we saw somebody skulking in the bushes back of the school,” said the girl. “It was rather dark, and the man was so far off we couldn’t tell who he was, although Martha thought he walked like the fellow who tried to push us into the auto.”
It took but a few minutes to reach the railroad station, and during that time Andy and Randy had no opportunity to speak of the trip the lads intended to take during their vacation. At the station they fell in with a number of the cadets, including Phil Franklin.
“I’ve arranged to stay with Mrs. Logan,” said Phil. “And I think Barry and I are going to have some bang-up times.”
“Don’t forget to look for the silver trophy,” said Jack quickly.
“Oh, I’ve already spoken to Barry about that,” answered the boy from the oil fields. “We’re going to make a systematic hunt. Of course, it isn’t going to be very easy to locate the exact spot where the vase went down.”
“It was opposite that clump of big pines,” declared Randy. “I noticed the pines just as I went overboard,” he added, with a sickly grin.
“I’ll remember that—it ought to help us in locating the spot,” said Phil, and then walked away to bid some of his other friends good-by.
“Now then, Andy and Randy, tell us where we’re going!” cried Fred, when the Rover boys and girls and Ruth were left for a moment to themselves.
“You’re going out West,” answered Andy dryly.
“Out West? Where?” came from Jack and Fred.
“You’re going out to the Rolling Thunder gold mine,” said Randy.
“Rolling Thunder! What a name!” exclaimed Ruth, dimpling.
“Where in thunder is Rolling Thunder?” demanded Fred. “I never heard of such a gold mine.”
“I have,” put in Jack quickly. “It’s the one Uncle Tom invested in a couple of years ago. I’m right, am I not?” he questioned of the twins.
“That’s it. It’s away out in the Rocky Mountains near a place called Maporah. It’s on what is known as Sunset Trail.”
“Gee, that sounds good! Sunset Trail!” murmured Fred.
“How are we to go? In an auto?” queried Jack.
“Hardly! We’re to take the train to Chicago and then another train to Maporah. From there we take horses and ride to a place called Gold Hill Falls where the mine is located. Dad says we ought to have a dandy time on Sunset Trail.”
“He says it’s a very wild country, with plenty of good hunting and fishing, and all that sort of thing,” came from the other twin. “He says we can go out either with a guide or by ourselves, just as we please.”
“That sounds mighty good to me,” said Fred, his eyes brightening. “I’d like to spend a few weeks in the saddle, and I’d like to go where there is some real fishing.”
“Suppose some Indians catch you and scalp you?” put in his sister mischievously.
“Indians! Humph! If there are any Indians out there more than likely some of them are from college and on the baseball or football teams,” was the quick retort. “The old-fashioned Indians exist only in the story books.”
The boys and girls became greatly interested in the subject of the outing and talked about it freely until it was time for the train to arrive. Then they bustled around to say good-by to those who were to leave in the opposite direction.
“Gee, it makes me feel awfully queer to think I’m never coming back to Colby Hall!” murmured Fred, as he shook hands with one and another of the cadets.
“This place has certainly been a second home to us,” answered Jack. “No matter what happens in the future, I’ll never forget the days spent here.”
“None of us will!” cried Randy.
“They were great days, the best of days, in spite of such fellows as Codfish, Gabe Werner, Bill Glutts, and Professor Duke,” declared the young major.
The girls were likewise in a flutter bidding farewell to their chums and also several of the teachers who were leaving. In the midst of all this excitement the train rolled in and a few seconds later boys and girls climbed aboard and the Rovers rushed down the aisle to get comfortable seats.
“Good-by to Haven Point!” shouted Andy, out of the window, and then opening a bag of popcorn he had purchased he scattered the entire contents over the heads of those left behind.
“Oh, my, look at that!” was the cry. “Popcorn! Did you ever!”
“That was Andy Rover! He’s always cutting up!”
“Here you are, Andy!” yelled Phil Franklin, in excitement, and just as the train started he sent a rubber ball whizzing through the open window of the car. The ball struck Andy in the ear, then bounced away into Ruth’s lap.
“Hi! We don’t want your ball!” called out Andy, and, catching it up, he threw it through the window, hitting the cadet named Morris in the chin. Then the train rolled away, and the journey to New York City was begun.
As the train passed out of sight two men, one about middle age and the other very much younger, stepped from a corner of a baggage room which was located close to where the Rover boys and those with them had been standing.
“I guess you got the right dope that time, Davenport,” said the younger man, as both walked away unnoticed and entered a roadster standing on a side road behind some bushes.
“I think I did,” answered Carson Davenport, his manner showing his satisfaction. “So they are going to Chicago and then to Maporah, and then out on Sunset Trail, eh? I’ll have to look into that.”
“Do you know anything about the Sunset Trail territory?” questioned the younger man.
“I do and I don’t,” was Davenport’s reply. “I was never there myself. But Tate, the fellow I’ve been telling you about, came from that district and he’s often told me about it. He spoke about this Rolling Thunder mine, too. He knows some of the fellows working there.”
“Then what you’ve got in mind ought to be easy, Davenport.”
“I don’t know about its being so easy! Those Rovers are not fools and since we made a mess of things the other day, more than likely they’ll be on their guard. I reckon I made something of a mistake when I called on Dick Rover. I should have waited until I had things better in hand.”
“What is the next move?”
“I think we had better follow them to New York, and then you had better find out a few more details of their plans.”
“Why don’t you do that yourself?”
“They know me, and they don’t know you.”
“They saw me out riding with you.”
“True! But I don’t think they’ll remember you. Anyway, you can easily put on some sort of a disguise. You can bump into the boys and pretend to get friendly and all that sort of thing,” went on the man from the oil fields.
“All right, Davenport, I’ll do whatever you want me to,” returned the younger man. “But understand, I’m not doing this for nothing.”
“I understand that well enough. And I’m not doing it for nothing either. If we work this thing right there will be a small fortune in it for all of us.”