The Rover Boys on the Farm

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The Rover Boys on the Farm, by

Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer) This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Rover Boys on the Farm or Last Days at Putnam Hall
Author: Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
Release Date: July 28, 2007 [EBook #22163]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
OR
LAST DAYS AT PUTNAM HALL
BY ARTHUR M. WINFIELD (Edward Stratemeyer)
AUTHOR OF THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL. THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN, THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES, Etc.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
Made in the United States of America

[Illustration: ONE HORSE REARED AND TRIED TO BACK.]

PREFACE.
MY DEAR BOYS: With this I present to you "The Rover Boys on the Farm," the twelfth volume in the "Rover Boys Series for Young Americans."
It is a large number of volumes to write about one set of characters, isn't it? When I started the series, many years ago, I had in mind, as I have told you before, to pen three books, possibly four. But as soon as I had written "The Rover Boys at School," "The Rover Boys on the Ocean," and "The Rover Boys in the Jungle," there was a cry for more, and so I wrote "The Rover Boys Out West," "On the Great Lakes," "In the Mountains," "On Land and Sea," "In Camp," "On the River," "On the Plains," and then "In Southern Waters," where we last left our heroes.
In the present story, as promised in the last volume, the scene is shifted back to the farm and to dear old Putnam Hall, with their many pleasant associations. As before, Sam, Tom and Dick are to the front, along with several of their friends, and there are a number of adventures, some comical and some strange and mystifying. At the school the rivalries are as keen as ever, but the Rover boys are on their mettle, and prove their worth on more than one occasion.
Again I thank my numerous readers for all the kind words they have spoken about my stories. I hope the present volume will please them in every way.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
EDWARD STRATEMEYER

CONTENTS.
I. SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
II. WHAT HAPPENED ON THE MOUNTAIN
III. A MYSTERIOUS CAVE
IV. AT THE FARM
V. RANDOLPH ROVER'S STORY
VI. WAITING FOR NEWS
VII. A STRANGE LETTER BOX
VIII. LAST DAYS ON THE FARM
IX. AT THE WILD WEST SHOW
X. JOLLY OLD SCHOOLMATES
XI. WILLIAM PHILANDER TUBBS
XII. WHAT HAPPENED ON THE STAIRS
XIII. DORA, GRACE AND NELLIE
XIV. AT THE ICE-CREAM ESTABLISHMENT
XV. AN ASTONISHING GIFT
XVI. THE HUNT FOR A SNAKE
XVII. A STIRRING SCENE IN THE SCHOOLROOM
XVIII. IN WHICH TAD SOBBER DISAPPEARS
XIX. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PARTY
XX. DICK AND DORA
XXI. A BOB SLED RACE
XXII. PELEG SNUGGERS' QUEER RIDE
XXIII. HOLIDAYS AT THE FARM
XXIV. A CAPTURE AND A SURPRISE
XXV. CHRISTMAS AT THE FARM
XXVI. THE SKATING RACE
XXVII. ON THE LAKE
XXVIII. AT THE OLD HOUSE
XXIX. A WRECK AND A CAPTURE
XXX. GOOD-BYE TO PUTNAM HALL

THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
CHAPTER I
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
"Sam, this isn't the path."
"I know it, Tom."
"We've missed our way," went on Tom Rover, with a serious look on his usually sunny face.
"It looks that way to me," answered Sam Rover, his younger brother. "I think we made a wrong turn after we slid down the cliff."
"What is keeping Dick?"
"I don't know."
"Let's call to him," went on Tom, and set up a loud cry, in which his brother joined. The pair listened intently, but no answer came back.
"I don't like this," said Sam, an anxious look in his clear eyes. "Maybe Dick is in trouble."
"Perhaps so," answered Tom Rover.
The two boys were far up on a mountainside, and all around them were tall trees, thick brushwood, and immense ridges of rocks. It had been a clear, sunshiny day, but now the sky was overcast, and it looked like rain.
"We've got to go back for Dick," said Tom, after a painful pause. "No use of going on without him."
"I hope he hasn't fallen over some cliff and hurt himself," returned his younger brother.
"I don't see why he doesn't answer us, if he's all right," was the unsatisfactory reply. "Come on, or the storm will overtake us before we get down from the mountain and we'll be soaked by the time we reach home."
Side by side the brothers retraced their steps--a hard task, for it is much easier to climb down a steep mountainside than to climb up.
To those who have read