CHAPTER I SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS "Luff up a little, Sam, or the Spray will run on the rocks." "All right, Dick. I haven't got sailing down quite as fine as you yet. How far do you suppose we are from Albany?" "Not over eight or nine miles. If this wind holds out we'll make that city by six o'clock. I'll tell you what, sailing on the Hudson suits me... more...

CHAPTER I. A STORM ON LAKE ERIE. "Dick, do you notice how the wind is freshening?" "Yes, Sam, I've been watching it for ten minutes. I think we are in for a storm." "Exactly my idea, and I shouldn't be surprised if it proved a heavy one, too. How far are we from shore?" "Not over three miles, to my reckoning." "Perhaps we had better turn back," and Sam... more...

PREFACE The life of Theodore Roosevelt is one well worth studying by any American boy who wishes to make something of himself and mount high on the ladder of success. The twenty-sixth President of our country is a fine type of the true American of to-day, full of vim and vigor, quick to comprehend, and equally quick to act, not afraid to defend his opinions against all comers when satisfied that he is... more...

CHAPTER I ON THE HOUSEBOAT "Say, Tom, what's that big thing coming down the river?" "I'm sure I don't know, Sam. It's big enough to be a house." repliedTom Rover. "Maybe it is a house," came from Dick Rover, who was standing beside his brothers on the rear deck of the houseboat which was taking them down the Mississippi River. "A house?" broke in a... more...

CHAPTER I PLANS FOR AN OUTING "Whoop! hurrah! Zip, boom, ah! Rockets!" "For gracious' sake, Tom, what's all the racket about? I thought we had all the noise we wanted last night, when we broke up camp." "It's news, Dick, glorious news," returned Tom Rover, and he began to dance a jig on the tent flooring. "It's the best ever." "It won't be... more...

FUN ON THE ICE "Everybody ready?" "Sure! Been ready half an hour." "Wait a minute, Frank, till I tighten my skate strap," cried Fred Rover, as he bent down to adjust the loosened bit of leather. "Hurry up, Fred, we don't want to stand here all day," sang out his Cousin Andy gaily. "That's it! I want to win this race," broke in Randy Rover, Andy's... more...

INTRODUCTION My Dear Boys: This is a complete story in itself, but forms the sixteenth volume issued under the general title of "Rover Boys Series for Young Americans." This line was started thirteen years ago by the publication of the first three volumes, "The Rover Boys at School," "On the Ocean," and "In the Jungle." I hoped that the young people would like the... more...

CHAPTER I THE ROVER BOYS AND THEIR FRIENDS "The houseboat is gone!" "Tom, what do you mean?" "I mean just what I say, Sam. The houseboat is gone—vanished, missing, disappeared, drifted away, stolen!" ejaculated Tom Rover, excitedly. "Tom, don't go on in such a crazy fashion. Do you mean to say the houseboat isn't where we left it?" "It is not,—and it is... more...

WHAT DICK HAD TO TELL "Here we are, Sam!" "And I'm glad of it, Tom. I don't care much about riding in the cars after it is too dark to look out of the windows," returned the youngest Rover. The train was nearing the Grand Central Terminal, in New York City. The passengers were gathering their belongings, and the porter was moving from one to another, brushing them and... more...

AN IMPORTANT TELEPHONE MESSAGE "There's the answer!" cried Tom. "It's as plain as day!" added Sam. "You are right," came from Dick. "I see it all now." He signed for the telegram and dismissed the boy, closing the door after him. "They are keeping father a prisoner somewhere, so that he cannot sign those documents." "And it means a big financial... more...