The Rover Boys on the Farm; or, Last Days at Putnam Hall
"Ah! Then please do, Tom," said the dude eagerly. To have any young
ladies think of him pleased him immensely.
"Well, these are a couple of young ladies who work in a laundry. Maybe
they wash your shirts. They are colored, and----"
"Colored!" gasped the dude, and then a shout of laughter went up, in the
midst of which William Philander started to leave the room.
"Don't go away mad, Billy," cried Tom. "Isn't it nice even to have two
dusky damsels think of you?"
"No, it is not--it is--is horrid!" answered William Philander. "I think
you are--er--poking fun at me."
"Never did such a thing in my life, my dear fellow--it's against my
internal regulations. But how have you been since the week before next
month?"
"I had a delightful vacation."
"Took the girls out to ice-cream sociables and yellow teas every day you
wasn't playing golf or hop-scotch, I suppose."
"I--er--took the young ladies out some--we had glorious times, don't you
know. One moonlight night on Lake George I shall never forget, don't you
know. We were out in a tiny rowboat and the moon was sparkling over the
water, and Geraldine and I----"
"Lucky Geraldine!" sighed Tom. "And thrice lucky Philander Willander--I
mean William Philander!"
"Can't you make up a poem about Geraldine, Songbird?" asked Sam.
"And don't forget to put in the moonlight," came from Dick.
"And the silvery waves, and murmuring breeze," added Fred.
"How much older than you is Geraldine, any how?" quizzed Tom.
"Geraldine is----"
"You haven't got to tell her age if she is over thirty, Billy," said
Larry. "Her age is sacred after that, you know."
"And don't tell us even if she has false teeth," came from Sam.
"And it doesn't make any real difference whether her hair is her own or
not."
"It's hers if it is paid for," said Tom. "You don't suppose a girl that
Billy would fall in love with would wear tresses that were stolen?"
"And to think she may be fat!" sighed Sam. "I hope she doesn't weigh
over two hundred, Willy."
"Oh dear me!" cried the dude, in desperation. "I want you to
remember----"
"That she is yours and yours only," finished Tom. "Yes, nobody shall
walk in your corn patch, Bill--not over my dead body. But tell
us--secretly if you must--does she wear a number eight shoe or a
twelve?"
"If you don't stop your fooling----" gasped the dude.
"He is going to keep his dreadful secrets to himself," cried Tom,
mournfully. "Alack! and too bad! But never mind, we'll all come to the
wedding, Tubblets, and bring lemons if you say so?"
"Who said I was going to get married?"
"Is it to be a church affair or just a little private home gathering?"
went on Tom, seriously. "If it's to be in a church, and you want us all
for rushers--I mean ushers, why----"
"We'll all be on the job," finished Dick. "Wouldn't miss the chance for
a farm with a blind mule thrown in."
"Vots der madder mid me peing a flower girl?" asked Hans, grinning
broadly.
"No, Hansy, you'll have to carry Billy's coat-tails for him," said Fred.
"The latest style from London, don't you know, is to have them trailing
on behind like----"
"Oh, stop! stop!" screamed William Philander, putting his hands to his
ears. "You are all perfectly horrid, don't you know! I'll not remain
another minute!" and he fled from the dormitory, the laughter of the
crowd ringing in his ears as he departed.
CHAPTER XII
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE STAIRS
In a few days the Rover boys felt perfectly at home once more--indeed it
was as if they had never been away, so Sam said. The majority of the
students were old friends, although there was a fair sprinkling of new
boys.
It was not until the end of the week that Dick Rover came into contact
with Tad Sobber, a stocky youth, with a shock of black hair and eyes
which were cold and penetrating. Sobber was with a chum named Nick Pell,
and both eyed Dick in a calculating manner which was highly offensive.
"He's the fellow who does the hero act," whispered Sobber to Pell, in a
manner meant to reach Dick's ears. "Wants to make a regular grand-stand
play all the time."
Without hesitation Dick wheeled about.
"Was that remark intended for me?" he demanded, sharply.
His suddenness took Tad Sobber off his guard.
"What if it was?" he demanded in return.
"I don't like it, that's all."
"Humph! I don't care whether you like it or not," grunted Sobber.
"See here, Tad Sobber, let us have an understanding," said Dick, calmly.
"I understand that you are trying to bully everybody in this school.
Now, this cannot be. We have had several bullies here and we have gotten
rid of them all. We want no more."
"Humph! Trying to be the bully yourself, eh?" sneered Sobber.
"No, I am only giving you warning. The other boys have told me about
you."
"Tad has a right to act as he pleases," put in Nick Pell.
"No, he has not. Captain Putnam expects every student here to be a
gentleman."
"Oh, don't preach, Rover," cried Tad Sobber. "I can take care of myself
without your advice."
"Well, I warn you to keep your distance so far as I am concerned and
keep a civil tongue in your head," said Dick.
What this war of words might have led to there is no telling. Just at
that moment the school bell rang, and all of the students had to hurry
to their respective classes.
It may be mentioned here that Sam, Tom and Dick were now in the same
grade. This may be wondered at, but the fact of the matter was that Sam,
by hard work the term previous, had caught up to Tom, while Dick,
because of being away on some business for his father at various times,
had dropped a little behind.
"Had a little run-in with Sobber," said Dick to his brothers, when he
got the chance, and related the particulars.
"He said something about me behind my back," said Sam. "I don't know
what it was, but I am certain it was nothing complimentary."
"We must watch him," said Tom. "If we do not, he may try to play us
foul."
As this was to be their last term at Putnam Hall, all of the Rovers
determined to do their best in their studies, so they spent no time in
fooling while at their classes. Once or twice Tom found it hard to
resist playing a joke, but a look from Dick usually made him turn to his
books again.
It was now the season for football, and several school teams had been
organized. Tom and Dick were on one team, headed by Larry Colby. There
was another team headed by Tad Sobber, and on this Nick Pell was a
quarterback. How Sobber had ever gotten the captaincy of this team was a
mystery.
"They want to play us next Saturday," said Larry, one afternoon. "What
do you fellows say?" He put the question to his fellow members of the
eleven.
"I don't care much to play Sobber and Pell," said Tom, promptly.
"Exactly the way I feel about it," added Dick. "But I'll play if the
rest want to."
Some demurred, but in the end the match was arranged, and it started on
the school grounds at two o'clock the following Saturday afternoon.
"I think it will be useless to try any mass playing," said Larry.
"Sobber and Pell and some of the others are too heavy for us. We'll have
to trust to some swift passes and quick runs."
In the first half of the game Sobber's eleven got ten points, while
Larry's team got nothing.
"Sobber is too brutal for me," said Tom. "He deliberately kicked me in
the shins."
"If he does it again, knock him down," advised Dick, promptly.
Larry's eleven went into the second half with vigor. They soon got a
goal and followed it up by two more. Then Sobber claimed a foul, but it
was not granted.
"If anybody is fouling it is you," said Dick. "You fouled Tom twice. If
you do it again----"
"Never mind, Dick," interrupted Larry. "Go on and play, or give up," he
added to Tad Sobber.
"I want Dick Rover to understand that he----" began Sobber, when another
player pulled him back. Some hot words followed, and then the game
proceeded. Larry's eleven made another touchdown and kicked the
goal,--and thus won a substantial victory, much to Sobber's disgust and
that of his crony, Nick Pell.
"No use of talking, those Rover boys make me sick," said Sobber, when he
and Nick Pell were alone. "Everybody in this school seems to toady to
them."
"If I had been you I'd have pitched into Dick Rover on the gridiron,"
answered Pell.
"Well, I wanted to, but the others wouldn't have it. But I'll polish him
off some day--and polish off Tom, too," added Sobber, uglily.
Two of the small boys of the school had been taken sick, and in order to
keep them quiet they were removed to the top floor of the institution,
and one of the colored waiters was ordered to carry their meals up to
them. Dick knew both of the lads, and he frequently went up to pay them
a visit and cheer them up a bit.
One day he was just returning from a visit to the sick students when he
heard a noise in the hallway on the second floor. He looked down the
stairs and saw Tom and Tad Sobber near a landing, having a wordy
quarrel. Nick Pell was approaching and so were Fred and Hans.
"For two pins I'd give you a good thrashing, Rover," the bully was
saying. "You can't lord it over me, understand that."
"Well, I want you to keep your distance, Tad Sobber," returned Tom. "And
I stick to it that you kicked me on purpose during the football game."
Both boys were walking to the stairs landing, and Dick and the others
who heard the words followed. Then of a sudden the crowd that was
gathered saw Sobber catch Tom by the throat.
"Le--let go!" gasped Tom.
"Take that!" retorted the bully, and banged Tom's head against the wall.
There was a scuffle near the stairs, and both boys fell up against the
railing.
"Look out, Tom!" cried Dick. "He'll throw you down the stairs!" And he
tried to go to his brother's assistance. But before he could reach the
spot the two contestants had separated.
"That for you!" roared Sobber, and aimed a blow for Tom's eye. Tom
dodged, and then let out with his right fist. The blow landed on the
bully's chin. He tottered backward, lost his balance, and pitched down
the stairs.
Just as the bully went backwards, a side door of the mess hall opened
and the colored waiter who carried the food to the sick lads upstairs
came out. He held a trayful of dainties in his hands. Crash! came Sobber
into the tray, and he and the dishes and the waiter went to the floor in
a confused heap.
"Fo' de lan' sake!" gasped the waiter. "What fo' you dun dat to me?"
"Oh!" groaned the bully, and tried to get up. On one cheek he had a dab
of jelly and his hand and shirt front were covered with broth. The sight
was such a comical one that the boys on the landing could not help but
laugh.
"Yo' dun bust de whole dinnah up!" was the waiter's comment, as he arose
and surveyed the wreck. The food had been scattered in all directions
and half of the dishes were broken.
"It wasn't my fault!" growled Tad Sobber. "Tom Rover knocked me down the
stairs."
"It was your own fault," cried Tom. "You started the fight, I didn't."
"Somebody's got to pay fo' dis smash," said the waiter. "I ain't gwine
to do it. Why, I ought to sue yo' fo' damages, dat's wot!" he added,
glaring wrathfully at Sobber.
"I'll fix Tom Rover for this!" exclaimed the bully, and looked up the
stairs at the laughing students. "I'll make him laugh on the other side
of his face!"
And he ran up the stairs with the intention of attacking Tom again.
CHAPTER XIII
DORA, GRACE AND NELLIE
That Tad Sobber was in a thorough rage was easily to be seen. His eyes
were full of hate and he looked ready to fly at Tom and tear him to
pieces.
All of the boys expected to see a great fight, and some backed away from