you know that."

"Then what's the use of keeping out of sight? I'd rather go in there and
give them a thrashing, like the one we gave them on that island."

"Don't forget we have the _Dartaway_ here and they might take pleasure
in ruining the craft or running off with her. Besides, I'd like to watch
them a bit and find out a little about their plans. Remember, they want
to play us some dirty trick."

"There they go!" burst out Sam, at that instant, and motioned to the
front of the cottage. All looked in the direction he pointed out, to see
Koswell and Larkspur hurrying down a lane that led to a road running
between the trees.

"You come back here! That wasn't fair!" shouted the farm hand who had
been playing cards with them. "Come back!" And he rushed to the front
door of the cottage and waved his arm wildly.

"It was fair!" shouted back Jerry Koswell.

"Sure it was fair!" added Bart Larkspur. "We'd come back, only we are in
a hurry."

"You cheated me!" stormed the farm hand and shook his fist at the pair.
But they paid no further attention, and soon the darkness and a bend of
the road hid them from view.

The Rover boys waited a few seconds and then knocked on the back door of
the cottage. The farm hand, a fellow named Dan Murdock, stamped over to
the door and threw it open.

"What do you want?" he asked surlily. The loss of his money had made him
ill-tempered.

"Why, hello, Murdock!" cried Sam. "I didn't know you lived here."

"Oh, so it's you, Rover," answered the farm hand. He remembered that he
had once given Sam a ride and had been well paid for it. "Caught in the
hailstorm?" he went on, a bit more pleasantly.

"Yes. These are my brothers," added Sam. "We were out and we got lost.
Can you tell us the best road to the college?"

"Of course. Walk through the woods back there. Then take the road to the
left and at the cross roads turn to the right. You'll see the signs, so
you can't go wrong."

"And how far is it?"

"About two miles. You can take the road yonder, too, but that's about a
mile longer."

"Do you live here?" asked Dick, curiously.

"I sleep here--me and two other hands. We get our meals up to Mr.
Dawson's house--the man we work for."

"Oh, then this is the Dawson farm?" Dick remembered that Mr. Dawson
supplied butter and eggs to the college.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm glad to know that, for we need some help. We were out in our
flying machine and had to come down over there. We'll wan