The Rover Boys on the Farm; or, Last Days at Putnam Hall
of twelve miles, so the boys had quite a sail before them. They took
turns at steering, and said they liked the sloop very much.
About four miles had been covered when the breeze began to die away.
This was exasperating, but could not be helped, so the boys made the
best of it. As the sloop drifted along they got out some fishing tackle,
and it was not long before Sam brought up a fair-sized fish, of which he
felt quite proud.
"At this rate it will take us till night to reach that old house,"
remarked Dick, after they had been fishing half an hour. "It is too bad!
I thought we'd get there by noon when we started, even if the breeze did
go down."
"Oh, I think the breeze will start up again before long," said Tom
hopefully. "Let us enjoy this fishing while we have the chance," he
added, having just pulled in a real piscatorial prize.
By noon they had a good mess of fish to their credit, and then Sam
proposed that they go ashore and build a fire and cook some for dinner.
"There is no use of mourning over the wind," said he.
"If it wasn't for the sloop we might tramp to the old house," returned
Dick.
"I shouldn't wish to leave my boat just anywhere," said Larry. "Somebody
might run off with her,--and she cost quite some money."
"You might leave her in care of some farmer along here," suggested
Songbird, and then he added softly:
"For what is a boat without a breeze?
It's like a forest minus its trees.
It's like a table without a leg,----"
"Or a big blue top without its peg!"
finished Tom. "But I move we camp and cook fish," he continued. "We can
have a dandy meal, along with the stuff we brought along."
The idea of going ashore prevailed, and soon they had tied up the sloop
and lowered the mainsail. Brushwood was handy, and having started a fire
they cleaned some of the fish and set it to broiling. They had a pot
along in which they made coffee, and they also brought out some bread
and crackers, cake, and some fruit. They had some meat with them, but
left that for possible future use.
The cadets took their time over the meal, and it was not until two
o'clock that they again boarded the _Polly_, as Larry had named his
craft.
"I think the breeze is coming again," cried Dick, holding up his hand.
"Let it come!" was the cry, and as the wind freshened all felt much
better. Soon the _Polly_ was bowling over the lake as speedily as when
they had first started.
"Do you know what I think?" said Songbird, who stood at the stern
looking toward the distant hills. "I think we are going to have more
wind than we'll want before night."
"Do you think a big blow is coming?" questioned Fred.
"It looks that way to me. Do you see those dark clouds just beginning to
show themselves yonder?"
"Well, I shan't mind a little blow," said Dick. "In fact, I think I'd
rather like the excitement." And the others said the same.
They were still about two miles from the spot where they supposed the
old house was located, when it suddenly grew darker and the breeze
freshened greatly. Then came a puff of air that sent the _Polly_ far
over on her side.
"Hi! this won't do!" cried Fred, in alarm. "We don't want to upset!"
"Maybe we had better take in some sail," added Songbird nervously.
He had scarcely spoken when there came another puff of wind that made
all cling fast to the deck to keep from being pitched overboard. The sky
was now very dark, and there were a few flakes of snow in the air.
"It's a spring snowsquall, that's what it is," announced Dick. "I don't
think it will last over ten or fifteen minutes."
"It's too much for the _Polly_," came from Larry. "Put down the
mainsail, will you?"
Several sprang to do as requested, and hardly had the sheet been lowered
and stowed away when there came a fierce gust that drove them well in
shore.
"There is a cove--we can go in there for shelter!" cried Sam, and the
sloop was steered accordingly. The cove was well protected by trees and
they came to anchor at a spot that looked particularly inviting.
The boys were afraid it would rain, and wondered what they would do to
keep from getting wet, since the cuddy on the sloop was too small to
hold more than two or three of the party. But no rain came, and soon the
flurry of snow disappeared. The wind, however, instead of letting up,
blew harder than ever.
"I am glad we are not out in the middle of the lake," observed Fred.
"We'd be capsized sure!"
"This is certainly getting to be a regular gale," answered Dick. "And
the worst of it is, there is no telling how long it is going to last."
There was nothing to do but to wait, and in order to keep warm the
cadets put up a bit of sailcloth on the deck of the sloop and taking in
the cuddy. There they crouched, and told stories and talked for over an
hour.
"I move we go on," said Tom, at last. "The wind isn't quite as strong as
it was."
Although doubtful of the wisdom of the proceedings, the others voted to
proceed and they poled their way out of the cove. Only the jib of the
_Polly_ was hoisted and this sent them bowling along at a fair rate of
speed.
Dick stood in the bow and at last called upon Larry to turn the sloop
toward shore.
"I think we must be in the neighborhood of that house now," he said.
"And just ahead is a fine cove where the sloop will be as well sheltered
as it was at the other cove."
Accordingly Larry turned the _Polly_ in, and the other lads lowered the
sail. They came to anchor between a number of tall trees, where the
sloop was almost screened from sight.
Having made certain the boat could not drift away, the six boys, led by
Dick, made their way along the shore until they struck something of a
path. Coming to a slight rise, Dick pointed with his hand.
"Isn't that a house, on the other side of the hill?" he asked.
"Yes!" cried Tom. "And by the appearance of it I should say it's the
place we are looking for!"
CHAPTER XXVIII
AT THE OLD HOUSE
The Rover boys and their chums approached the old house with a good deal
of interest. Dick led the way, setting a pace that made it hard for the
others to keep up.
"Don't hurry so, Dick," remonstrated Fred. "The house isn't going to run
away."
"Dick wants to make sure if that Merrick is around," responded Songbird.
"And I can't blame him."
The old Sobber homestead was surrounded by a grove of trees equally
aged. One of the trees had blown down, taking a corner of the roof with
it. Through this opening the birds flitted.
"I don't believe a soul is around," observed Tom, as they halted in
front of the building.
"Nothing like ringing the bell!" cried Sam, and mounting the dilapidated
piazza he raised the ancient knocker of the door and used it vigorously.
Then came a crash and the youngest Rover felt the piazza bottom give
way.
"Look out, a post is coming down!" cried Dick, warningly, and Sam had
just time enough to leap away when the corner post of the piazza fell,
allowing the roof above to sag several inches.
"Looks to me as if the whole building was on the verge of collapse," was
Songbird's comment.
"Yes, and I don't know whether I want to go in or not," added Larry.
"It certainly does look shaky," admitted Dick. "I don't think anybody
would risk staying in it long."
Leaving the front, they walked around the old house and gazed through
several of the broken-out windows. Inside all was dirt and cobwebs, with
a few pieces of broken-down furniture scattered about. As he looked in
one window Tom saw a big rat scurry across the floor.
"I guess rats are the only tenants," he said dryly. "And they don't pay
rent."
"With a few birds on the top floor, front," added Sam. "Well, do we go
in or not?"
"I am going in," declared Dick, and pushed open the old kitchen door. It
was damp and mouldy in the apartment, for the rain had soaked loose much
of the plaster and caused it to fall.
The big open fireplace looked grimy and forbidding with its iron bars
and chains. An iron kettle stood on the chimney-piece, a crack across
the bottom.
"Somebody has had a fire here not so very long ago!" said Dick, and
picked up a bit of half-burnt newspaper. He turned it over. "Here is a
date. This newspaper is only four days old!"
"Then whoever made a fire here visited this house within the past four
days," said Larry in a tragic whisper.
"Whoop! just listen to what a detective Larry is becoming!" cried Tom.
"Regular Bowery Bob, the Newsboy Sleuth!"
"Perhaps it was only some curiosity seeker who came here," suggested
Fred.
With caution, for the floors were very rotten, the cadets moved from one
room of the old house to another.
"Anything in there?" asked Tom of Sam, as the latter peered into a room
that was extra dark.
"I can't make out," was the answer, and Sam took a step forward. Then of
a sudden there was a strange whirring, and something hit the youngest
Rover boy on the ear, causing him to fall back in fright.
"Stop that!" he cried.
"What was it?" queried Tom, while the others came running to the spot.
"Something hit me on the ear!"
"Anybody in there?"
"There must be."
"Come out of that, whoever you are!" yelled Fred, while Dick pointed his
shotgun at the door.
There was no answer, but a second later came the whirring again, and
then a big bat flew into the light, just grazing Tom's face.
"A bat!"
"Let it go!" said Songbird, and then the bat flew out of a window and
disappeared.
"Oh!" murmured Sam, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I--I thought
somebody struck at me!"
"I've got one of those electric pocket lights along," said Tom. "Let me
use that."
He turned on the little electric lamp, and by its rays they inspected
the apartment. It was a bedroom, and in one corner was an old bedstead
and on it a musty straw mattress. In another corner was a closet
containing several shelves.
"Here is an old inkwell," said Dick, and brought it forth. "And here are
the remains of a box of writing paper and envelopes."
"Any letters?" asked Fred.
They looked around, but at first could find no writings of any kind. But
behind one of the shelves, in a crack, they discovered several sheets of
paper and took these to the light to read.
"They are parts of letters from Mr. Sobber to his wife," said Dick.
"They must have been written by Tad's father."
"He speaks here of Merrick," added Tom, who was scanning a blurred page.
"Merrick is Mrs. Sobber's brother beyond a doubt."
"From these letters I should say Mr. Sobber had been off on a sea trip,"
continued the eldest Rover boy. "And it looks to me as if he had been an
honest man, for he tells his wife that he hopes Merrick will give up his
gambling habits."
From the bedroom the boys entered what had been the parlor of the house.
This was almost bare. To one side of the parlor was an entry-way, and
here was a stairs leading to the second story and another leading to the
cellar.
"Well, shall we go up or down?" queried Dick.
"Let us see what the cellar looks like first," answered Sam. "Perhaps
we'll find a pot of gold there."
"Or a few skeletons," put in Tom.
"Ugh! don't say skeletons," cried Songbird, with a shiver. "I've got the
creeps already!"
"Look out that you don't break your neck on the stairs," warned Larry,
and then Dick led the way down, holding the light before him.
If it was damp above it was far more so below, and the boys shivered in
spite of themselves. The cellar had only a mud bottom and this was
covered with slime and mold. There was little there to interest them
outside of an old chest which, when they pried it open, proved to be
empty.
"Listen!" cried Tom, suddenly, and held up his hand.
"What did you hear?" demanded several of the others.