THE ROVER BOYS Boxed Set: 26 Illustrated Adventure Novels. Stratemeyer Edward

      At Putnam Hall the boys had made a number of friends, and also several enemies, and had had several surprising adventures, as my old readers already know. Who their friends and their enemies were, and what further adventures were in store for the three brothers, I will leave for the pages following to reveal. At present let us turn our attention to the boat which seemed on the point of running down the Spray.

      Like their own craft, the other boat carried but a single mast. But the stick was at least ten feet longer than the mast of the Spray, and the boat was correspondingly larger in every respect. As she came nearer the Rover boys saw that she contained two occupants, a boy and a somewhat elderly man.

      "Sheer off there!" cried Dick, at the top of his lungs. "Do you want to run us down?"

      "Get out of the way yourself!" came back the answer from the boy in the other boat.

      "We can't get out — we are almost on the rocks now!" yelled Tom. Then he gave a start of surprise. "Why, it's Mumps!"

      "By jinks, it is John Fenwick!" muttered Dick. "I remember now that he came from the Hudson River and that his folks owned a boat." He raised his voice. "Are you going to sheer off or not?"

      By this time the two boats were nearly bowsprit to bowsprit, and Sam Rover's heart almost stopped beating. But now Mumps spoke to the man with him, and his craft, called the Falcon, sheered to port, scraping the Spray's side as she did so.

      "Mumps, what do you mean by such work?" demanded Dick, when the immediate danger was past.

      "Ha! ha! I thought I would give you a scare," laughed the former sneak of Putnam Hall. "You needn't be afraid but what I and old Bill Goss here know how to keep the Falcon out of danger."

      "It was foolishness to run so close," said Tom.

      "Don't you talk to me, Tom Rover. I've had enough of you, mind that."

      "And I want you to mind and keep off next time, Mumps. If you don't —— "

      "What will you do?"

      "I'll be tempted to come aboard the Falcon and give you a thrashing."

      "You'll never set foot on my boat, and I'm not afraid of you," roared Mumps. "You think you got the best of me at Putnam Hall, but you didn't, and I want you to know it."

      "How is your friend, Dan Baxter?" cried Sam. "Has he landed in jail yet?"

      "Never mind Dan Baxter," growled Mumps, growing red in the face; and then the two yachts moved so far apart that further talk was impossible.

      "Well, I didn't expect to meet him," muttered Dick, after the three brothers had cooled down a bit. "He must have known we were in this boat."

      "I saw his craft last night, down near Catskill," said Tom. "I'll wager he has been following us up."

      "He wouldn't do that unless he had some reason for it."

      "I believe he would sink us if he could," put in Sam. "To my mind he is almost as bad as Baxter."

      "Hardly, Sam; Dan Baxter is a thief and the son of a thief," came from Tom. "By the way, I wonder if Arnold Baxter is still in the hospital at Ithaca."

      "More than likely, since he was so badly hurt by that fall from the train. If we —— Look, Mumps has turned around and is following us!"

      Sam pointed to the Falcon, and his brothers saw that he was right. Soon the larger craft was again within hailing distance.

      "Hi, Mumps, what are you following us for?" demanded Dick, as he stepped up on the stern seat.

      "Didn't know I was following you," was the sour rejoinder. "I have a right to sail where I please."

      "If you have any game in mind I advise you not to try it on."

      "What game would I have, Dick Rover?"

      "Some game to get yourself into trouble."

      "I know my own business."

      "All right; you can go about your business. But don't try to step on our toes — or you'll get the worst of it."

      "So you are going to play the part of a bully."

      "No; I'm only giving you fair warning. If you let us alone we'll let you alone."

      "You have been watching the movements of the Falcon since day before yesterday," went on Mumps, slowly and distinctly, as though he expected his words to have great effect.

      "Watching your boat —— " began Dick and Tom simultaneously.

      "Yes, watching my boat — and I don't like it," answered Fenwick, and his face grew dark.

      "Why should we watch your boat?" demanded Sam.

      "Never mind why. You've been watching her, and that's enough."

      "And why should we put ourselves out to that extent — when we are merely out for pleasure," said Dick. "There is no fun in watching a fellow like you, I'm sure."

      "John is right; ye have been a-watchin' this boat," growled the old sailor named Bill Goss, who, it may be as well to state here, was thoroughly under his young master's thumb for reasons best known to himself. "If I had my way

       THE "FALCON" CAME ON SWIFTLY, AND IN AN INSTANT HER SHARP BOW CRASHED INTO THE ROVER BOYS' BOAT.

      I'd wollop the lot on ye!" And he shook his fist at the occupants of the Spray.

      "You keep your oar out!" cried Dick sternly. "You are entirely mistaken in your suspicions. We are not spying on you or anybody, and if you —— "

      Dick was permitted to go no further. While Bill Goss was speaking the Spray had been caught by a sudden puff of wind and sent over to starboard. Now the Falcon came on swiftly, and in an instant her sharp bow crashed into the Rover boys' boat. The shock of the collision caused the Spray to shiver from stem to stern, and then, with a jagged hole in her side, she began slowly to sink.

      CHAPTER II

       THE ENCOUNTER ON THE RIVER

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      For the instant after the collision occurred none of the Rover boys uttered a word. Tom and Sam stared in amazement at Mumps, while Dick gazed helplessly at the damage done.

      "Pull her away, quick, Bill!" cried Mumps in a low voice to the old sailor, who at once sprang forward and shoved the two yachts apart with a long boat-hook. Then the rudder of the Falcon was put hard aport, and she swung away for a distance of half a dozen yards.

      "We are sinking!" gasped Tom, who was the first of the three brothers to find his voice.

      "Mumps, you rascal, what do you mean by this work?" demanded Dick. And then, without waiting for an answer, he turned to Sam. "Steer for the shore and beach her — if you can."

      "I don't believe we can make it, Dick. But we can try."

      "We'll have you locked up for this, Mumps," shouted Tom.

      "I couldn't help it — it was an accident," returned the former sneak of Putnam Hall glibly. "You should have kept out of the way."

      "We'll see about that later on."

      "Maybe you want us to help you."

      "We shan't ask you for the favor," burst out Sam. "I'd rather drown first." But Sam did not exactly mean this. He and his brothers could all swim, and he felt certain that they were in no immediate danger of their lives.

      "You had better not ask any favors. I wouldn't pick you up for a barrel of money."

      "I think we'll have to settle this in court, Mumps," said Dick, as quietly as he could.