reat times ahead of us boys of the Riverport school, with that
jolly shell coming to us, and the river in fine shape for rowing this
summer."

As they walked along the bank of the Mohunk, with Fred trying to cheer
his companion up, a few words concerning the young fellows might be in
place.

Fred Fenton had come to Riverport within the year. He lived with his
father and mother, together with three smaller sisters, in a cottage
not far removed from the bank of the river.

Mr. Fenton was employed by a concern in the town. He had at first been
connected with a large manufacturing firm in Mechanicsburg, which was
located some three miles up the river; but lost his position through
the influence of Squire Lemington, who had a reason for wishing him to
feel the biting pangs of poverty.

An uncle of Fred's had left some valuable property up in Alaska, which
would make the Fentons comfortable if they could only get hold of it.
Unfortunately a big syndicate, with which Sparks Lemington was
connected, pretended to have a claim on this mining property, and was
doing everything possible to keep Mr. Fenton out of it.

An important witness, whose evidence would have undoubtedly proved the
Fentons to be the genuine owners, had been mysteriously carried off.
His name was Hiram Masterson, and he was really a nephew of Sparks
Lemington. Mr. Fenton had gone to the city late in the preceding Fall,
under the belief that the missing witness was found; but arrived too
late, since Hiram had been "shanghaied" aboard a sailing vessel
belonging to the big syndicate, and carried away to unknown seas,
perhaps never to return.

So hope had gradually dwindled down to a very faint spark in the
breasts of the Fentons, though they still refused to utterly give up
dreaming that some day all would be made right.

Fred had soon made many friends among the boys of Riverport, and some
enemies as well. How he became the leading pitcher of the school team,
and played his part in the great games against Paulding and
Mechanicsburg, has been described in the first volume of this series,
entitled "Fred Fenton, the Pitcher; Or, The Rivals of Riverport
School."

The chief enemy of Fred was Buck Lemington, son of the Squire, who had
planned to ruin the Fentons' hopes for fortune. And just how the bully
of the town, taking pattern from his father's usual methods of
procedure, tried to get Fred disgraced, so that he could not play on
the football team that F