fall.

On arriving at Colby Hall the young Rovers had found several of their friends awaiting them, one of these being Dick Powell, the son of Songbird Powell, a former schoolmate of their fathers. Dick was always called Spouter because of his fondness for long speeches. Another was Gifford, the son of Fred Garrison, after whom Fred Rover had been named. There was also Walter Baxter, a son of Dan Baxter, who years before had been an enemy of the older Rovers, but who had now reformed and was doing very well.

Before coming to Colby Hall, Jack Rover had had a quarrel in New York City with a tall, dudish youth, named Napoleon Martell. Nappy Martell, as he was called by his cronies, was a cadet at the military academy, and he and his crony, an overgrown bully named Slugger Brown, did what they could to make trouble for the Rovers. But one of their underhanded transactions was exposed, and they were sent away from the academy for the time being.

As mentioned, Colby Hall was located about half a mile beyond Haven Point. On the opposite side of the town was located Clearwater Hall, a boarding school for girls. During a panic in a moving-picture theater Jack and his cousins became acquainted with a number of these girls, including Ruth Stevenson, May Powell, Alice Strobell, and Annie Larkins. They found out that May was Spouter Powell’s cousin, and the whole crowd of young people soon became friends. Later on Mary and Martha Rover became pupils at the girls’ school.

Ruth Stevenson had an old uncle Barney, who in times past had had a bitter quarrel with Ruth’s parents. The Rover boys once went out hunting, and on this occasion saved the old man’s life, as related in “The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island.” For this the old man was exceedingly grateful, and as a result he invited them to spend their winter holidays on Snowshoe Island, a place which he said he owned and of which he was very proud.

The boys traveled to this island and had many adventures while hunting and otherwise. They found out that the father of Slogwell Brown, always called Slugger by his comrades, was laying claim to the island. This man, backed up by Asa Lemm, a discharged teacher of Colby Hall, and backed up likewise by his son Slugger and Nappy Martell, did all he could to take possession of the property. But the Rover boys exposed the plot, and held the rascals at bay, and in the end old Barney Stevenson’s claim to the land was made safe. During the time on the island Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell had stolen a tin box containing some valuable papers from the old man, and for this they had at first been threatened with arrest, but had been allowed to go when Slugger’s father gave up his claim to the place.

“You think you’re smart, don’t you?” Slugger Brown had grumbled to Jack when he was ready to depart from Snowshoe Island. “You just wait, Jack Rover! I’m not going to forget you and your cousins in a hurry!”

“And I won’t forget you either,” Nappy Martell had added. “We’ll get even with you when you least expect it.”

But for quite a while now none of the Rovers had seen or heard anything more of Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell. But they were destined to hear more from these two unworthies, and in a most unusual fashion.

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CHAPTER III

THE AMMUNITION FACTORY EXPLOSIONS

“Oh, I do hope Mary is safe!” cried Martha Rover, as she and the others ran toward where the automobiles which had brought them over to Colby Hall from the girls’ boarding school were standing.

“So far those explosions haven’t reached Clearwater Hall,” answered her brother Jack. “But there is no telling what a real heavy explosion may do.”

“That’s just it!” burst out his cousin Randy. “For all we know, those Hasley people may have a large quantity of TNT or some other high explosive stored there, and if that should go up—good-night!”

“It would be fierce!”

“I think it’s awful to allow those ammunition people to have their works so close to a town,” was Ruth Stevenson’s comment.

Boom! Boom!

Two more explosions rent the air. Then followed a series of poppings like the discharge of a machine gun.

“Those must be some of the small shells going off,” said Andy. “Gosh, what a shame they couldn’t have held this back until the Fourth of July!” he added. Andy would probably have wanted to joke at his own funeral.

The Rovers and their girl friends were soon seated in the automobiles which they had used earlier in the day to bring the girls to Colby Hall. With them went as many of the other cadets and their friends as could pile into the machines or hang fast to the running boards. All of the ball players went in their baseball outfits, not taking time to change to their uniforms.

The Rovers and their friends were among the first to leave the military institution, and for this reason they got away without any trouble. They had scarcely departed when Captain Mapes Dale, the military instructor attached to the school, appeared and forbade any more of the cadets to leave the grounds.

“There is no telling how dangerous those explosions may become,” said Captain Dale, “and Colonel Colby thinks it is best that you remain here where it is comparatively safe. Even as it is, we may have some big shells coming this way.”

The Hasley Shell Loading Company had been located on the opposite shore of Clearwater Lake for a number of years previous to the opening of the war in Europe. But at that time it had been only a small concern, employing but a handful of men. A year after the opening of hostilities, however, the plant had been enlarged, and now, since the entrance of the United States into the war, the force of workmen had been again doubled and many additional buildings had been erected, some along the lake front and others in the hills further back. A spur of the railroad had also been built to the plant, and on this were numerous cars, all painted to show the dangerous nature of the freight they were destined to carry.

On two different occasions the Rover boys and their chums had rowed over to the vicinity of the shell-loading works to look at what was going on. Guards around the works, however, had kept them from landing or even getting within a reasonable distance of the place. This, they knew, was done because the authorities feared that some spies might try to get into the buildings with a view to blowing them up.

“Gee, that certainly sounds like war!” cried Andy, as the explosions continued. There was a continual popping of small shells, punctured every now and then by a decidedly heavier explosion.

“My gracious! Look at that!” burst out Jack a moment later.

What the oldest Rover boy referred to was a curious explosion of a quantity of shells which seemed to go up in the form of an immense sheaf of wheat. Thousands of small objects filled the air, flying off in all directions of the compass.

“I’ll bet we’ll get some of those over here!” exclaimed Gif Garrison, who was clinging to the running board of the machine.

And he was right. Only a few seconds later several small bits of metal came down around them, two striking the hood of the automobile and one falling into the tonneau on Ruth’s lap.

It did not take those in the automobile long to cover the half mile which lay between