the parade ground of the encampment they found
the cadets of Putnam Hall hurrying to the spot from all directions. It
was a perfect day, this fifth of July, with the sun shining brightly
and a gentle breeze blowing. The camp was as clean as a whistle, and
from the tall flagstaff in front of the grounds Old Glory flapped
bravely out on the air.

To those who have read "The Rover Boys at School," and other volumes in
this series, Dick, Tom, and Sam need no special introduction. When at
home they lived with their father and their aunt and uncle at Valley
Brook farm, pleasantly located in the heart of New York State. From
this farm they had been sent by their uncle Randolph to Putnam Hall
military academy, presided over by Captain Victor Putnam, to whom they
became warmly attached. At the academy they made many firm friends,
some of whom will be introduced in the pages which follow, and also
several enemies, among them Dan Baxter, the offspring of a criminal
named Arnold Baxter, who, after suffering for his crimes by various
terms of imprisonment, was now very sick and inclined to turn over a
new leaf and become a better man.

A term at school had been followed by a remarkable chase on the ocean,
and then a journey to the jungles of Africa, in a hunt after Anderson
Rover, the boys' father, who was missing. Then had come a trip to a
gold mine in the West, followed by some exciting adventures on the
Great Lakes. On an island in one of the lakes they unearthed a document
relating to a treasure hidden in the Adirondack Mountains, and next
made their way to that locality, in midwinter, and obtained a box
containing gold, silver, and precious stones, much to their
satisfaction.

After their outing in the mountains, the boys had expected to return to
Putnam Hall, but a scarlet-fever scare broke out and the institution
was promptly closed. This being the case, Mr. Rover thought it best to
allow his sons to visit California for their health. This they did, and
in the seventh volume of the series, entitled "The Rover Boys on Land
and Sea," I related how Sam, Tom, and Dick were carried off to sea
during a violent storm, in company with Dora Stanhope, already
mentioned, and her two cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning, two particular
friends of Tom and Sam. The whole party was cast away on a deserted
island, and had much trouble with Dan Baxter, who joined some sailor
mutineers. Our friends were finally rescued by a United States warshi