CHAPTER XXIII—THE WHITE FLAG

“Just as you say, and they’ll be along this afternoon on schedule time. Too bad if they have that long row for nothing. I expected to have dinner waiting for them when they got here, and then we could take them home in the canoes. This rumpus has upset all our plans,” remarked Frank dismally; for secretly, Violet Milton had promised to cook a dish that was an especial favorite of his and bring it over, to prove her accomplishments in the culinary line.

“Oh, I hope it may all turn out right yet. Now, that reminds me of my plan. If we could only force these two rascals to surrender it would shorten our stay out in the bush, and we could make for the beach, call Will ashore, and have our tents up again in a jiffy.”

“Talk to me about your persistent youngsters, ain’t he all to the good, though? What is this jim-dandy plan of yours, Bluff? Suppose you give us a look-in, so we can cheer you on, or condemn it as altogether too ridiculous?” suggested Jerry.

“Smoke!”

“You mean, make it so uncomfortable for the hoboes that they’ll be glad to come out and hold up their little hands for us—is that the programme?”

“Well, don’t you think it would work, Jerry?” demanded the originator.

“Who’s going to do the smoking act? Tell me that.”

“That’s easy. Count on me, if you don’t mind holding my gun while I chase around and gather some stuff that will smolder and not blaze up. Some green weeds make a bitter smoke that smarts the eyes dreadfully. I’ll try that on. Those tramps may be able to stand for a good deal, but if they stay in that place long they’ll feel like a couple of smoked hams,” declared the energetic Bluff.

“Oh, so far as that goes, I’m only too willing to grab a good old gun again. I reckon you let Will have mine,” observed Jerry as he relieved the other of the repeating shotgun.

“And you won’t feel disgraced because it happens to be one of those pump-guns?” Bluff took occasion to remark, maliciously.

“Circumstances alter cases. This is one. I’ve no doubt that a gun like this can be very useful at times. Anyhow, I’m open to a trial. Just let those hoboes show up and try to attack us, and if I don’t fill their miserable bodies full of bird shot, then it’s twenty-three for mine. Now, watch him begin his new job, Frank.”

“You saw what happened to those other boys when they started to rush the door with that log battering-ram, didn’t you, Bluff? Perhaps they’ve got more hot water handy. Look out for it, my son,” warned Frank.

“Oh, I’m onto that racket. I can dodge any Niagara that comes. Besides, I don’t mean to give ’em more of a chance at me than I can help. One of you keep watch on the door, and if they start to open just bang away in the air to tell that we mean business. Here goes, boys.”

So Bluff commenced moving hither and thither under the trees, searching for just the kind of wood he wanted. It was his intention to start his fire alongside the tree that grew nearest to the cabin wall. Then, after he had it smoking at a furious rate he could push the whole mass under the structure with a long stick.

For some time he worked. Not a sound or a sign of life came from the cabin. If Waddy Walsh and his pal, Biffins, were still inside, they knew how to keep quiet.

By this time our friends had become convinced that the hobo couple could not be in possession of any kind of firearm, for they would surely have made some use of the same at the time Pet Peters and his crowd pushed them so warmly.

Feeling sure of this, Bluff worked openly, only keeping behind the trees whenever he approached close to the hut, for fear lest a sudden shower of scalding fluid should greet him.

Frank and Jerry had separated, each watching a side of the cabin. Frank also kept close to the tree which had sheltered the singular being whose coming on the scene had completed the fright of Pet Peters and his cronies. From the way he cast frequent looks up at that yawning cavity it would seem as though he half anticipated a reappearance of the remarkable creature that had vanished inside the tree.

Finally Bluff seemed to have arranged the little pile of material to suit.

“Here she goes, fellows! Look out, now! There may be something doing. Hold ’em up if they rush me!” he called, as he applied a match.

The stuff burned briskly at first. When he had allowed it to gain what headway he deemed sufficient, Bluff began to cover the fire with the green weeds brought for the purpose.

“Wow!” shouted Jerry, as a wavering breeze carried some of the dense smoke over to his station. “That’s the limit! Ought to be a State’s prison offense for any one to make such a smudge as that. You’ll suffocate the poor guys—that’s what!”

But Bluff only grinned, and labored on. He had a long pole in his hands, with which he was shoving the smoldering mass over so that it would pass under a certain part of the cabin. Here there was a friendly opening ready to receive it.

Bang! went a gun.

The cabin door, which had started to open, was hastily shut, although, of course, Jerry had fired above the roof.

“How does it work?” shouted Bluff, thinking more of his gun in the hands of the one who had always detested it than his own danger from hot water.

“Great!” answered Jerry as he let another shot loose, having, as he thought, detected a movement of the door again.

Thinking they had drawn his fangs, those in the cabin now really opened the door, to get a chance to deluge Bluff, when, to their amazement and alarm, Jerry turned loose a third shot. The door shut, this time to open no more for that purpose.

“Now what do you say?” roared Bluff. “What could you have done with one of your old measly two-shot guns, eh? Tell me that.”

“I take back all I ever said against the bully thing. Three more shots waiting for you, Mister Hobo. Just show your nose, and see!” exclaimed the marksman.

“Mark the window, Bluff!” called Frank just then.

Thus warned in time, Bluff was able to scurry around the protecting trunk of the tree as an arm was projected from the small opening, and, as before, a pan of steaming water dashed all around him.

“Tell me about that, will you?” jeered Jerry, who guessed what had happened, though it took place on the other side of the cabin.

Bluff started pushing his mass of smoking weeds forward again.

“Never touched me!” he shouted in his excitement.

By this time the rank smoke had begun to ooze up through the floor of the old cabin. Doubtless there were plenty of gaping cracks between the puncheon boards to allow of a draught. Just how long the inmates could stand this sickening cloud was a question.

“Say! ain’t this the real thing? Perhaps the sheriff would like to take a few lessons from our chum Bluff on how to smoke hams. Listen, will you! The poor guys are sneezing to beat the band. Keep up the good work, pard, and you’ll force their hand. Get ready to cover ’em, Frank. I reckon something’s bound to happen soon.”

“Hey, you Waddy! Show up with the white flag, and we quit!” called Bluff from behind his refuge.

He was rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, for while he had claimed to have escaped entirely, some of the splashing water had dropped on his skin and left an impression in the shape of a red mark.

“A white flag—that’s the game! Might as well do it right while we’re at it, boys. Come out, Waddy! We want you, and we mean to get you! Three more charges in this elegant pump-gun, and all for you. Do you surrender?” shouted Jerry.

It was happiness to Bluff to hear this scoffing sportsman chum of his thus praise the hitherto detested repeating gun, and he danced around almost recklessly, such was his delight.

But no more charges of scalding water belched out of that small window. Perhaps the two unfortunates within had all they could attend to trying to breathe in that sickening, smoke-laden atmosphere.

“Keep up the good work, Bluff. It’s immense,” encouraged Frank, who really believed that, after all, the other had hit upon a clever way to force a surrender on the part of the defiant hoboes.

Suddenly the energetic fireman gave a loud cheer.

“They shove out the white flag! They surrender! What d’ye think of my plan, now, fellows? There’s Waddy waving it out of the window! Don’t shoot the poor duck—he’s pretty near all in, and blind with the smoke!” he whooped.

It was so.

Perhaps the article that the boy tramp was waving wildly out of the small opening may have hardly deserved the name of white flag, but his intentions could not be doubted.

Smoke had won against stubborn grit, and the hoboes were ready to throw up their hands!

CHAPTER XXIV—A NEW ALARM

As he came, the man held both arms aloft. Apparently he knew what was wanted, and did not mean to encourage these young hunters to try a shot at his person.

“Lie down on the ground, on your face!” shouted Frank. “Now keep your hands stretched out that way. Don’t dare move, or it will be bad for you, Biffins. Now, Waddy, your turn!” called Frank again.

A second figure came into view, groping, as if utterly blind. He, too, was compelled to drop on the cool earth, where he could gulp in great breaths of the fresh air, of which they were in such dire need.

From three directions the boys approached.

“Hurrah! We bagged ’em!” shouted Bluff.

Frank said nothing. It was not in his nature to exult over a fallen foe, though he did not blame the more impulsive Bluff for his evident delight.

From one of his pockets he produced some stout cord. He certainly had never dreamed what a singular use he would find for this when placing it there.

“Watch them both, Jerry. Now, Biffins, put your hands behind you, crossed. I’m going to tie them so. It’s no use thinking of doing anything. You couldn’t escape, even if you got away from us, for the sheriff has this island surrounded, and he is on the way here, right now, with his posse. Perhaps you might be shot down in the woods. There, you won’t break that, I reckon, in a hurry.”

He turned his attention to the second rascal. Waddy Walsh had reached a point in his reckless career where he did not care much what happened to him. Having in a measure recovered from the suffocating fumes of the smoking weeds, he even twisted his head half way around to jeer at Jerry.

“Helpin’ to arrest your old pard, hey, Jerry? That’s kind of you, now. I’ll be likely to remember it, old feller, when I get out again,” he said.

“I reckon you won’t have a chance to get out in a hurry, Waddy. I’m ashamed to admit that I did once go out with you, till you took to stealing, and I had to cut you off my visiting list. Hear that shooting, boys? The sheriff’s posse must be in the woods nearby, right now, and coming this way. I reckon Tom found ’em, all right.”

“Well, let ’em come. We’re ready to hand the prisoners over to the lawful officers. Say, but this has been a fierce time all around. We never thought, when we started out to camp on Wildcat Island, that we’d pass through such a string of adventures. Where are you going, Frank?” said Bluff, as the other started to enter the cabin, the smoke having settled somewhat, after the smoldering weeds were dragged away from under the wall.

“Just to look around a little, that’s all. Please stay with Jerry,” came the answer, as Frank vanished within.

Presently he came out again. He had a bundle under his arm, wrapped in a newspaper, and of which he seemed especially careful. Jerry looked at him, and received a nod in return, which he seemed to understand full well, for he asked no questions.

“Here’s the packet Mr. Pemberton lost, and I suppose the valuables are all safe inside, eh, Waddy?” he said, holding up something small he carried.

“Never touched a thing in it. Them other pieces of silver we swiped out of the farmhouse, and anything else you find come from that storage house over in Newtonport. We was after something big there, but missed it,” admitted the boy from the reform school, with unblushing effrontery.

Loud calls were now heard close by. Bluff lifted his tuneful voice and shouted:

“This way, Mr. Dodd. Everything lovely, and the goose hangs high. We’ve got ’em safe and sound. Here’s your men, sir. Step right up and put the irons on ’em!”

Biffins had not said a word up to now. The smoke had taken all desire to talk away from him; but he proved that he could swear like a pirate. No doubt what galled him most of all was the fact that his capture had been brought about through the instrumentality of a parcel of boys.

The crashing of the undergrowth became plainer. Then a party of men could be seen hurrying forward as fast as the tangled thickets would allow.

Mr. Dodd, the sheriff, was at their head. As he saw the two tramp thieves lying on the ground, helpless, he gave a roar. Rushing up to the boys, he shook the hand of each one in turn.

“Bully work, boys! I’m proud to know you, proud to say you live in the same town as I do! Hello, Biffins! So it’s you, eh? Well, this time we’ve got you dead to rights, and you don’t get off. And here’s Waddy Walsh, broke loose from the school he was sent to to learn to become a decent man. Back you go, my fine lad, this time to stay.”

So he rattled on, as he proceeded to clap a pair of neat steel bracelets on the wrists of each of the prisoners.

After that he went into the cabin and thoroughly searched it.

“I reckon we’ve got all the plunder they had, and now it might be a good thing if we burned this old rat trap of a nest to the ground. It’s got a bad name, and if tramp thieves have taken to lodging here, the sooner it goes, the better.”

Under the orders of the sheriff, some of the posse started things moving. In a short time the old cabin was a mass of flames. They made sure that the fire could not extend to the surrounding forest, which was just beginning to be covered with an early crop of new leaves. Then the whole company started through the thickets, headed for the shore.

“Hang the luck! We forget one thing, after all!” said Bluff suddenly.

He had been so busy getting several pictures of the burning cabin that for the time being all other things had escaped him.

“What was that?” asked Frank, winking at Jerry knowingly.

“The wild man! We forgot to get him out of that hollow tree!” exclaimed Bluff.

“Well, it’s too late now. For one, I object to walking back there. Besides, we must hustle in order to make camp again against the coming of the girls,” observed Frank seriously.

“But ain’t we ever going to know what the mystery of that queer creature must be? Perhaps we’d better write to that keeper we met before, Mr. Smithson, and let him know. Then if he’s shy a member of his happy family of lunatics, he’ll know where to hunt for him,” Bluff went on innocently.

“A bully good idea, and you can do the writing when we get home, if you feel that way,” said Frank, with a face that was as sober as that of a judge, while Jerry had to turn his head away to keep from laughing outright.

“But about the girls, fellows! Do you know they may not come, after all. Perhaps the folks have heard about the lively times down here on Wildcat Island, and put a veto on the outing. Then, again, you can hear the wind in the tops of these tall trees, so there must be whitecaps on the lake. It would be risky for a lot of girls to embark on so long a trip,” observed Jerry.

“Well, boys, we’re going to turn aside here, and make for a point where the tug is to meet us. I want to thank you again. Don’t forget there’s a nice little hundred waiting for you when you want to claim it,” said Mr. Dodd, after a bit.

“We’ve decided that you are to turn that reward over to Tom Somers here. He was a great help to us, and we’d like his family to get the hundred, Mr. Dodd,” said Frank.

Tom started to say something, then broke down, and could only look at each of the three boys with his heart in his eyes.

“Now for the place again. It’s tenting once more on the old campground for us, fellows. I hope Will has had the sense to cross over after he saw the tug come, and the posse come ashore,” remarked Frank.

They pushed through the dense growth stubbornly, and in the course of time realized that they were drawing near the open.

“One more rush, and we can pass around that big bluff and see our place. There’s the lake, and whitecaps, too. Too bad the girls can’t be with us. What a yarn we’d have to tell ’em, eh, fellows?” said Frank, laughing.

“Thunder!” exclaimed Bluff just then.

“What’s happened to you, old sport?” asked Jerry.

“Look here, through this opening! Ain’t that the boat with the girls, out there in that jumping sea? And side on, part of the time. Something’s happened to ’em, that’s what, as sure as you’re born!” ejaculated Bluff.

The others looked, and also uttered exclamations of dismay, while Frank called out:

“They seem to have only one oar, and Nellie’s trying to steer with that. Much she knows about sculling! Oh! They were nearly over that time! My heart’s in my mouth. Run for the shore, boys! If only Will has come in with our canoes!”

And plunging like mad through the remaining brush, the three lads broke out upon the little beach, just where they had first landed when coming to Wildcat Island to camp.

CHAPTER XXV—THE RESCUE—CONCLUSION

Then the canoes were launched. This in itself was no easy task, but Frank and his chums were experts at handling the small craft, and had often practised all manner of tricks with the boats while in swimming.

Through the breaking surf that rushed up on the shore they ran with the canoes. Then jumping in, they seized the paddles, and started to work furiously.

Success attended their efforts, and presently they were moving swiftly toward the rolling rowboat, in which crouched the four frightened girls.

“Sit down, and keep still! We’ll get you all right!” bawled Frank, as he saw one of the girls make an effort to use the remaining oar.

So they came alongside. Frank breathed a prayer of thanksgiving when his hand caught the gunwale of the skiff.

“I’ve got the boat to hold two of you. Nellie, can you climb over, if I hold on tight?” he asked his sister; “and you, too, Violet, will you dare?”

Nellie made the change easily enough, and then came Will’s sister. Meanwhile, the other boys had decided to convoy the rowboat in with its remaining passengers, rather than attempt the risky task of transferring them out there on the rough lake.

They made fast, one on either side, and began to paddle with the waves. In this way the entire number finally found themselves safely ashore.

“We hardly expected you’d try it in this wind,” said Frank, as he helped Violet up the beach to the deserted camp.

“But the wind came up after we started, and we couldn’t go back to save our lives, you see,” she explained, laughing a little hysterically.

“But what does this mean? Where is your camp, boys? It looks as though everything is done up just as you left home,” said Mame Crosby, as she eyed the many packages which the others were now busily gathering together.

At that they all looked at each other and burst into roars of laughter.

“It’s a long story, girls, and we’ll spin it while we sit around the fire having dinner. As it’s now long past noon, and there’s a heap to do getting the camp fixed again, you must excuse us. Bluff, start the fire going, and the girls can help us out by taking charge of dinner while we build our camp,” said Frank.

Things began to assume the old-time air in less than half an hour. Of course, the girls chattered like magpies as they worked, but all their appeals for information fell on deaf ears until they were sitting around, in picnic style, enjoying the splendid dinner, which was helped out by the delicious things brought from home.

“And to think how near we came to feeding the fishes with these, too,” said Susie Prescott, as she helped Will to a second portion.

“Now please take pity on us, and explain what has happened. We’re just dying by inches to know. What was that tug doing down here, with all those men? And unless I’m mistaken, I saw Mr. Dodd, the sheriff, aboard. He was out hunting those two bad tramps who robbed the steamboat. Oh, boys! Do you mean to say you have had anything to do with them?”

Nellie had brought it to the point where explanations must be in order. So the story was told in detail. Sometimes one of the campers related a certain part, and then another took it up from where he left off.

“And with what views Bluff took for me, I’ll have enough to illustrate the whole performance. A few I’ve missed, and they will always haunt me. Altogether it’s been a remarkable series of adventures,” declared Will enthusiastically.

“The most astonishing that will ever come our way, I reckon,” said Jerry with emphasis.

But though they did not dream of it at that time, there were still stranger things fated to befall the four chums ere many months had passed. These happenings of vacation time will appear in the next volume of this series, to be entitled “The Outdoor Chums in the Forest; or, Laying the Ghost of Oak Ridge,” which will tell of the weird experiences our friends met with while investigating the greatest mystery that ever troubled the neighborhood of Centerville.

The merry party had just about finished their dinner when Bluff once again began to take his comrades to task for not thinking to rout the wild man out of his hole in the tree while they had the help of the sheriff’s posse.

“It’s a chance we’ll never have again, and no doubt the poor old fellow would be better off if turned over to Mr. Smithers, at the asylum. Have any of you girls heard of a lunatic at large since winter?” he kept on, until both Frank and Jerry could stand it no longer.

“It’s a shame to keep you in the dark any longer, Bluff. To tell you the truth, we captured that wild man,” said Frank as soon as he could control his face.

“Captured him? When? How? Where? You’ve been having a joke all to yourselves. It’s time you let me in, boys,” he said positively.

Frank ripped open the newspaper package he had carried all the way from the lone cabin in the jungle. Then he held something up that first provoked exclamations of wonder and then shrieks of laughter from the girls. Bluff turned red in the face, but being good-natured, he finally joined in the mirth.

“So that’s what it was, eh? That big tramp dressed himself up in that monkey skin they stole from Dr. Aiken’s collection, over in the store-house, when they entered. Waddy knew about the story of the wild man said to be on this island, and meant to have Biffins play the part to frighten off any posse that might land. A clever idea, yes; and I guess he did have considerable fun with it,” Bluff went on.

“Jerry knew, of course, for he was a prisoner, and saw the fellow dressing to carry out the part; but I gave him the wink, and he kept quiet,” said Frank.

“But how did you know?” demanded Will.

“I just guessed it. Sort of put two and two together, you see. The footprints gave me a clue. Then I watched the fellow carefully when he was coming out of the tree, and going in later. I believed it was a man, and he seemed to know too much to be a lunatic; but I thought I’d have a little fun with you and Bluff.”

“Into the tree, yes, but how do you explain that? We saw him go in that hole in the hollow stump, and he didn’t come out again, yet Biffins was in the cabin when my stinging smoke made them surrender. There’s something queer about that.”

“You’re right there is, Bluff. I saw how the thing was done when I went inside the cabin, after they had been made prisoners. In the front room was a hole in the floor. I jumped in that, and found, just as I expected, that it was a nice little underground tunnel leading to that hollow tree. Years ago, the man who lived there must have constructed that as a means of escape from some imaginary danger. When Biffins entered that tree he simply kept along until he reached the cabin; but neither of them dared try to escape that way, because they saw me standing guard,” remarked Frank calmly.

“Well! Talk about your mysteries, this one beats the band! But that fellow who died in the cabin did have a reason to be afraid, Frank. I understand he turned out to be a man who was wanted for a capital crime down in New York City. Perhaps he dreamed of the time when he should be tracked to his hiding-place, and meant to have a chance for escape,” observed Jerry.

They passed the hairy disguise around. Bluff even stood up to show how it had fitted the big man, at which Will uttered a cry of delight.

“Oh! now I know how I can get a picture of the wild man for our collection. Bluff, some day won’t you just put that thing on, and let me snap you off? It will be a real kindness, and I think you will be pleased with the result,” he exclaimed.

At which poor Bluff glared at him, and subsided, while the girls went into new spasms of laughter.

Dinner was made as elaborate as possible, and in spite of what had happened the girls and the boys did full justice to all that was set before them. As they ate they talked the happenings over again. They all had fun with the disguise, and when one of the girls tried it on, everybody screamed with laughter.

“The wild girl from Peru,” said Frank.

“The Wildcat Island belle,” came from Jerry.

And then another shout of laughter arose.

Dinner over, the boys gallantly ferried the girls over to a dock at which the steamboat would stop on her round of the lake. Here they laughed and joked until the Eastern Star came along, when the four girls started home.

Captain Amos leaned over the rail and heard the news with delight, saying:

“Glad to hear it, fellows. Knew those hoboes would regret it if ever they ran across the tracks of you four. So they’re in the lock-up by this time, and Mr. Pemberton’s packet of jewelry is recovered. Hurrah for the Rod, Gun and Camera Club!”

So the little steamboat sheered off, the paddles began to beat the water, and our boys waved their hats in farewell as the girls returned the salute with their dainty handkerchiefs. After which, Frank and his chums headed once more for Wildcat Island to finish their Easter outing, so strangely interrupted.

THE TOM SWIFT SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

These spirited tales convey in a realistic way the wonderful advances in land and sea locomotion. Stories like these are impressed upon the youthful memory and their reading is productive only of good.

    TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE
    Or Fun and Adventure on the Road
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT
    Or The Rivals of Lake Carlopa
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP
    Or The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT
    Or Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT
    Or The Speediest Car on the Road
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE
    Or The Castaways of Earthquake Island
 
    TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS
    Or The Secret of Phantom Mountain
 
    TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE
    Or The Wreck of the Airship
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER
    Or The Quickest Flight on Record
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE
    Or Daring Adventures in Elephant Land
 
    TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD
    Or Marvelous Adventures Underground
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER
    Or Seeking the Platinum Treasure
 
    TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY
    Or A Daring Escape by Airship
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA
    Or The Perils of Moving Picture Taking
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT
    Or On the Border for Uncle Sam
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON
    Or The Longest Shots on Record
 
    TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE
    Or The Picture that Saved a Fortune

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St. New York

THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

In these stories we follow the adventures of three boys, who, after purchasing at auction the patents of a moving picture house, open a theatre of their own. Their many trials and tribulations, leading up to the final success of their venture, make very entertaining stories.

    THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS’ FIRST VENTURE
    Or Opening a Photo Playhouse in Fairlands.

The adventures of Frank, Randy and Pep in running a Motion Picture show. They had trials and tribulations but finally succeed.

    THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS AT SEASIDE PARK
    Or The Rival Photo Theatres of the Boardwalk.

Their success at Fairlands encourages the boys to open their show at Seaside Park, where they have exciting adventures—also a profitable season.

    THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS ON BROADWAY
    Or The Mystery of the Missing Cash Box.

Backed by a rich western friend the chums established a photo playhouse in the great metropolis, where new adventures await them.

    THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS’ OUTDOOR EXHIBITION
    Or The Film that Solved a Mystery.

This time the playhouse was in a big summer park. How a film that was shown gave a clew to an important mystery is interestingly related.

    THE MOTION PICTURE CHUMS’ NEW IDEA
    Or The First Educational Photo Playhouse.

In this book the scene is shifted to Boston, and there is intense rivalry in the establishment of photo playhouses of educational value.

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

Moving pictures and photo plays are famous the world over, and in this line of books the reader is given a full description of how the films are made—the scenes of little dramas, indoors and out, trick pictures to satisfy the curious, soul-stirring pictures of city affairs, life in the Wild West, among the cowboys and Indians, thrilling rescues along the seacoast, the daring of picture hunters in the jungle among savage beasts, and the great risks run in picturing conditions in a land of earthquakes. The volumes teem with adventures and will be found interesting from first chapter to last.

    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS
    Or Perils of a Great City Depicted.
 
    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE WEST
    Or Taking Scenes Among the Cowboys and Indians.
 
    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON THE COAST
    Or Showing the Perils of the Deep.
 
    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
    Or Stirring Times Among the Wild Animals.
 
    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN EARTHQUAKE LAND
    Or Working Amid Many Perils.
 
    THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS AND THE FLOOD
    Or Perilous Days on the Mississippi.

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH SERIES

By GRAHAM B. FORBES

Never was there a cleaner, brighter, more manly boy than Frank Allen, the hero of this series of boys’ tales, and never was there a better crowd of lads to associate with than the students of the School. All boys will read these stories with deep interest. The rivalry between the towns along the river was of the keenest, and plots and counterplots to win the championships, at baseball, at football, at boat racing, at track athletics, and at ice hockey, were without number. Any lad reading one volume of this series will surely want the others.

    The Boys of Columbia High;
    Or The All Around Rivals of the School.
 
    The Boys of Columbia High on the Diamond;
    Or Winning Out by Pluck.
 
    The Boys of Columbia High on the River;
    Or The Boat Race Plot that Failed.
 
    The Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron;
    Or The Struggle for the Silver Cup.
 
    The Boys of Columbia High on the Ice;
    Or Out for the Hockey Championship.

12mo. Illustrated.

Handsomely bound in cloth, with cover design and wrappers in colors.

Price, 40 cents per volume.

Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York

The Outdoor Chums Series

By CAPTAIN QUINCY ALLEN

The outdoor chums are four wide-awake lads, sons of wealthy men of a small city located on a lake. The boys love outdoor life, and are greatly interested in hunting, fishing, and picture taking. They have motor cycles, motor boats, canoes, etc., and during their vacations go everywhere and have all sorts of thrilling adventures. The stories give full directions for camping out, how to fish, how to hunt wild animals and prepare the skins for stuffing, how to manage a canoe, how to swim, etc. Full of the very spirit of outdoor life.

    THE OUTDOOR CHUMS
    Or, The First Tour of the Rod, Gun and Camera Club.
 
    THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE LAKE
    Or, Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island.
 
    THE OUTDOOR CHUMS IN THE FOREST
    Or, Laying the Ghost of Oak Ridge.
 
    THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE GULF
    Or, Rescuing the Lost Balloonists.
 
    THE OUTDOOR CHUMS AFTER BIG GAME
      Or, Perilous Adventures in the Wilderness.

12mo. Averaging 240 pages.

Illustrated. Handsomely bound in Cloth.

Price, 40 Cents per Volume

GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK

The Young Reporter Series

BY HOWARD R. GARIS

The author is a practiced journalist, and these stories convey a true picture of the workings of a great newspaper. The incidents are taken from life.

12mo. Bound in Cloth. Illustrated.

Price, 40 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.

    FROM OFFICE BOY TO REPORTER
    Or The First Step in Journalism.
 
    LARRY DEXTER, THE YOUNG REPORTER
    Or Strange Adventures in a Great City.
 
    LARRY DEXTER’S GREAT SEARCH
    Or The Hunt for a Missing Millionaire.
 
    LARRY DEXTER AND THE BANK MYSTERY
    Or A Young Reporter in Wall Street.
 
    LARRY DEXTER AND THE STOLEN BOY
    Or A Young Reporter on the Lakes.

The Sea Treasure Series

By ROY ROCKWOOD

No manly boy ever grew tired of sea stories—there is a fascination about them, and they are a recreation to the mind. These books are especially interesting and are full of adventure, clever dialogue and plenty of fun.

12mo. Bound in Cloth. Illustrated.

Price, 40 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.

    ADRIFT ON THE PACIFIC
    Or The Secret of the Island Cave.
 
    THE CRUISE OF THE TREASURE SHIP
    Or The Castaways of Floating Island.
 
    THE RIVAL OCEAN DIVERS
    Or The Search for a Sunken Treasure.
 
    JACK NORTH’S TREASURE HUNT
    Or Daring Adventures in South America.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK

THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS

For Little Men and Women

By LAURA LEE HOPE

AUTHOR OF “THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES”

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

Copyright publications which cannot be obtained elsewhere. Books that charm the hearts of the little ones, and of which they never tire. Many of the adventures are comical in the extreme, and all the accidents that ordinarily happen to youthful personages happened to these many-sided little mortals. Their haps and mishaps make decidedly entertaining reading.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE.

The demand for this series has been so great that the author has yielded to many requests and has added two volumes as follows:

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL.

Telling how they got home from the seashore; went to school and were promoted, and of their many trials and tribulations.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE.

Telling of the winter holidays, and of the many fine times and adventures the twins had at a winter lodge in the big woods.

THE DOROTHY CHESTER SERIES

By EVELYN RAYMOND

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 60 CENTS, POSTPAID

Two companion stories for American girls, by one of the most popular writers of fiction for girls’ reading. They are bright, winsome and thoroughly wholesome stories.

DOROTHY CHESTER. The Haps and Mishaps of a Foundling.

The first volume tells how Dorothy was found on the doorstep, taken in, and how she grew to be a lovable girl of twelve; and was then carried off by a person who held her for ransom. She made a warm friend of Jim, the nobody; and the adventures of the pair are as interesting as they are surprising.

DOROTHY CHESTER AT SKYRIE.

Shows Dorothy at her country home near the Highlands of the Hudson. Here astonishing adventures befell her, and once again Jim, the nobody, comes to her assistance.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST, NEW YORK

THE RISE IN LIFE SERIES

By Horatio Alger, Jr.

These are Copyrighted Stories which cannot be obtained elsewhere. They are the stories last written by this famous author.

12mo. Illustrated.

Bound in cloth, stamped in colored inks.

Price, 40 Cents per Volume, Postpaid.

    THE YOUNG BOOK AGENT
    Or Frank Hardy’s Road to Success

A plain but uncommonly interesting tale of everyday life, describing the ups and downs of a boy book-agent.

    FROM FARM TO FORTUNE
    Or Nat Nason’s Strange Experience

Nat was a poor country lad. Work on the farm was hard, and after a quarrel with his uncle, with whom he resided, he struck out for himself.

    OUT FOR BUSINESS
    Or Robert Frost’s Strange Career

Relates the adventures of a country boy who is compelled to leave home and seek his fortune in the great world at large.

    FALLING IN WITH FORTUNE
    Or The Experiences of a Young Secretary

This is a companion tale to “Out for Business,” but complete in itself, and tells of the further doings of Robert Frost as private secretary.

    YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK
    Or The Son of a Soldier

The scene is laid in the South during the Civil War, and the hero is a waif who was cast up by the sea and adopted by a rich Southern planter.

    NELSON THE NEWSBOY
    Or Afloat in New York

Mr. Alger is always at his best in the portrayal of life in New York City, and this story is among the best he has given our young readers.

    LOST AT SEA
    Or Robert Roscoe’s Strange Cruise

A sea story of uncommon interest. The hero falls in with a strange derelict—a ship given over to the wild animals of a menagerie.

    JERRY, THE BACKWOODS BOY
    Or the Parkhurst Treasure

Depicts life on a farm of New York State. The mystery of the treasure will fascinate every boy. Jerry is a character well worth knowing.

    RANDY OF THE RIVER
    Or the adventures of a Young Deckhand

Life on a river steamboat is not so romantic as some young people may imagine, but Randy Thompson wanted work and took what was offered.

    JOE, THE HOTEL BOY
    Or Winning Out by Pluck.

A graphic account of the adventures of a country boy in the city.

    BEN LOGAN’S TRIUMPH
    Or The Boys of Boxwood Academy

The trials and triumphs of a city newsboy in the country.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK

The Enterprise Books

Captivating Stories for Boys by Justly Popular Writers

The episodes are graphic, exciting, realistic—the tendency of the tales is to the formation of an honorable and manly character. They are unusually interesting, and convey lessons of pluck, perseverance and manly independence, 12mo. Illustrated. Attractively bound in cloth.

Price, 40 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.

    Moffat, William D.
    THE CRIMSON BANNER. A Story of College Baseball

A tale that grips one from start to finish. The students are almost flesh and blood, and the contests become real as we read about them. The best all-around college and baseball tale yet presented.

    Graydon, William Murray
    CANOE BOYS AND CAMP FIRES.

In this book we have the doings of several bright and lively boys, who go on a canoeing trip and meet with many exciting happenings.

    Harkness, Peter T.
    ANDY, THE ACROBAT. Or, With the Greatest Show on Earth

Andy is as bright as a silver dollar. In the book we can smell the sawdust, hear the flapping of the big white canvas and the roaring of the lions, and listen to the merry “hoop la!” of the clown.

    Foster, W. Bert
    THE QUEST OF THE SILVER SWAN. A Tale of Ocean Adventure

A Youth’s story of the deep blue sea—of the search for a derelict carrying a fortune. Brandon Tarr is a manly lad, and all lads will be eager to learn whether he failed or succeeded in his mission.

    White, Matthew, Jr.
    TWO BOYS AND A FORTUNE. Or, The Tyler Will

If you had been poor and were suddenly left a half-million dollars, what would you do with it? That was the problem that confronted the Pell family, and especially the twin brothers, Rex and Roy. A strong, helpful story, that should be read by every boy in our land.

    Winfield, Arthur M.
    BOB, THE PHOTOGRAPHER. Or, A Hero in Spite of Himself

Relates the experiences of a poor boy who falls in with a “camera fiend,” and develops a liking for photography. After a number of stirring adventures Bob becomes photographer for a railroad; thwarts the plan of those who would injure the railroad corporation and incidently clears a mystery surrounding his parentage.

    Bonehill, Captain Ralph
    LOST IN THE LAND OF ICE. Or, Daring Adventure Round the South Pole

An expedition is fitted out by a rich young man and with him goes the hero of the tale, a lad who has some knowledge of a treasure ship said to be cast away in the land of ice. The heroes land among the wild Indians of Patagonia and have many exciting adventures.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS SERIES

By LAURA LEE HOPE

AUTHOR OF “THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES.”

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID.

The adventures of Ruth and Alice DeVere. Their father, a widower, is an actor who has taken up work for the “movies.” Both girls wish to aid him in his work. At first, they do work in “parlor dramas” only, but later on, visit various localities to act in all sorts of pictures.

    THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS
    Or First Appearance in Photo Dramas.

Having lost his voice, the father of the girls goes into the movies and the girls follow. Tells how many “parlor dramas” are filmed.

    THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT OAK FARM
    Or Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays.

Full of fun in the country, the haps and mishaps of taking film plays, and giving an account of two unusual discoveries.

    THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS SNOWBOUND
    Or The Proof on the Film.

A tale of winter adventures in the wilderness, showing how the photo-play actors sometimes suffer. The proof on the film was most convincing.

    THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS UNDER THE PALMS
    Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida.

How they went to the land of palms, played many parts in dramas before the clicking machine, and were lost and aided others who were also lost.

    THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT ROCKY RANCH
    Or Great Days Among the Cowboys.

All who have ever seen moving pictures of the great West will want to know just how they are made. This volume gives every detail and is full of clean fun and excitement.

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH SERIES

By GERTRUDE W. MORRISON

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

Here is a series full of the spirit of high school life of to-day. The girls are real flesh-and-blood characters, and we follow them with interest in school and out. There are many contested matches on track and field, and on the water, as well as doings in the classroom and on the school stage. There is plenty of fun and excitement, all clean, pure and wholesome.

    THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH
    Or Rivals for all Honors.

A stirring tale of high school life, full of fan, with a touch of mystery and a strange initiation.

    THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON LAKE LUNA
    Or The Crew That Won.

Telling of water sports and fun galore, and of fine times in camp.

    THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH AT BASKETBALL
    Or The Great Gymnasium Mystery.

Here we have a number of thrilling contests at basketball and in addition, the solving of a mystery which had bothered the high school authorities for a long while.

    THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON THE STAGE
    Or The Play That Took the Prize.

How the girls went in for theatricals and how one of them wrote a play which afterward was made over for the professional stage and brought in some much-needed money.

    THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON TRACK AND FIELD
    Or The Girl Champions of the School League.

This story takes in high school athletics in their most approved and up-to-date fashion. Full of fun and excitement.

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES

By LAURA LEE HOPE

AUTHOR OF THE EVER POPULAR “BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS”

12mo CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED.

PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID

These tales take in the various adventures participated in by several bright, up-to-date girls who love outdoor life. They are clean and wholesome, free from sensationalism, absorbing from the first chapter to the last.

    THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE
    Or Camping and Tramping for Fun and Health.

Telling how the girls organized their Camping and Tramping Club, how they went on a tour, and of various adventures which befell them.

    THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE
    Or Stirring Cruise of the Motor Boat Gem.

One of the girls becomes the proud possessor of a motor boat and at once invites her club members to take a trip with her down the river to Rainbow Lake, a beautiful sheet of water lying between the mountains.

    THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR
    Or The Haunted Mansion of Shadow Valley.

One of the girls has learned to run a big motor car, and she invites the club to go on a tour with her, to visit some distant relatives. On the way they stop at a deserted mansion, said to be haunted and make a most surprising discovery.

    THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP
    Or Glorious Days on Skates and Ice Boats.

In this story, the scene is shifted to a winter season. The girls have some jolly times skating and ice boating, and visit a hunters’ camp in the big woods.

    THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA
    Or Wintering in the Sunny South.

The parents of one of the girls have bought an orange grove in Florida, and her companions are invited to visit the place. They do so, and take a trip into the wilds of the interior, where several unusual things happen.

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE DICK HAMILTON SERIES

By HOWARD R. GARIS

A SERIES THAT HAS BECOME VERY POPULAR

    DICK HAMILTON’S FORTUNE
    Or The Stirring Doings of a Millionaire’s Son.

Dick, the son of a millionaire, has a fortune left to him by his mother. But before he can touch the bulk of this money it is stipulated in his mother’s will that he must do certain things, in order to prove that he is worthy of possessing such a fortune. The doings of Dick and his chums make the liveliest kind of reading.

    DICK HAMILTON’S CADET DAYS
    Or The Handicap of a Millionaire’s Son.

The hero is sent to a military academy to make his way without the use of money. Life at an up-to-date military academy is described, with target shooting, broadsword exercise, trick riding, sham battles etc. Dick proves himself a hero in the best sense of the word.

    DICK HAMILTON’S STEAM YACHT
    Or A Young Millionaire and the Kidnappers.

A series of adventures while yachting in which our hero’s wealth plays a part. Dick is marooned on an island, recovers his yacht and foils the kidnappers. The wrong young man is spirited away, Dick gives chase and there is a surprising rescue at sea.

    DICK HAMILTON’S FOOTBALL TEAM
    Or A Young Millionaire on the Gridiron.

A very interesting account of how Dick developed a champion team and of the lively contests with other teams. There is also related a number of thrilling incidents in which Dick is the central figure.

    DICK HAMILTON’S AIRSHIP
    Or A Young Millionaire in the Clouds.

Tells how Dick built an airship to compete in a twenty thousand dollar prize contest, and of many adventures he experiences.

12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated, and bound in cloth stamped in colors. Printed wrappers.

Price, 60 Cents per volume, postpaid

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York

THE FAMOUS ROVER BOYS SERIES

By ARTHUR W. WINFIELD

American Stories of American Boys and Girls

A MILLION AND A HALF COPIES SOLD OF THIS SERIES

12mo. Cloth. Handsomely printed and illustrated.

Price per vol. 60c., postpaid

    THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
    Or The Cadets of Putnam Hall
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
    Or A Chase for a Fortune
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
    Or Stirring Adventures in Africa
 
    THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
    Or The Search for a Lost Mine
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
    Or The Secret of the Island Cave
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
    Or A Hunt for Fame and Fortune
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
    Or The Crusoes of Seven Islands
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
    Or The Rivals of Pine Island
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
    Or The Search for the Missing Houseboat
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
    Or The Mystery of Red Rock Ranch
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
    Or The Deserted Steam Yacht
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
    Or The Last Days at Putnam Hall
 
    THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
    Or The Strange Cruise of the Steam Yacht
 
    THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
    Or The Right Road and the Wrong
 
    THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
    Or The Struggle for the Stanhope Fortune
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
    Or From College Campus to the Clouds
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN NEW YORK
    Or Saving Their Father’s Honor
 
    THE ROVER BOYS IN ALASKA
    Or Lost in the Fields of Ice

Grosset & Dunlap, 526 West 26th St., New York