"Remember, boys will be boys."

"That's true, Tom. But we've got to take 'em in hand sooner or later,"
remonstrated his brother Sam. "If we don't, they'll grow up the wildest
bunch ever known."

A number of cries of alarm and protest, mingled with fierce cheering,
had reached the house from the garden just beyond the broad veranda. As
the three Rover brothers hurried through the hallway and outside, the
yelling and cheering were renewed. Then, just as Tom Rover stepped out
on the veranda, there was a sudden swish and a stream of water from a
garden hose caught him directly in the left ear.

"Hi! Hi! Stop that!" cried Tom Rover, doing his best to dodge the
stream of water, which suddenly seemed to play all over the piazza.
"What do you mean by wetting me this way?"

"It wasn't my fault, Dad," came from a boy standing on the lawn, both
hands clutching a rubber hose held, also, by another boy of about the
same age. "It was Fred who turned the hose that way."

"Nothing of the sort! It was Randy twisted it that way trying to get it
away from me," cried Fred Rover. "And he isn't going to do it!" and
thereupon ensued a struggle between the two boys which caused the
stream of water to fly over the garden first in one direction and then
another.

In the meanwhile, not far away another stream of water was issuing from
a hose held by two other lads. This, as well as the water from hose
number one, had been directed towards the back of the garden, where an
elderly white man and an equally elderly colored man were trying to
shelter themselves behind a low hedge to keep from becoming drenched.

"Fo' de lan's' sake, Massa Dick! won't you make dem boys stop?" cried
out the old colored man, when he caught sight of Dick Rover hurrying
out on the lawn. "Dem boys is jest nacherly tryin' to drown old Aleck
Pop, dat's what dey is!"

"They didn't have no call to touch them hoses," came from the elderly
white man. "I tol' 'em they mustn't muss with the water; but they won't
mind nohow!" and thus speaking old Jack Ness held up his hands in comic
despair.

"Why! we didn't know you were behind the hedge," came from one of the
boys holding the second hose. "We thought you were both down at the
barn."

"You can't make believe like that, Andy Rover!" returned the old man of
all work, shaking his head vigorously. "You knowed I was goin' to trim
up this hedge a bit and that Aleck was goin' to help me."

"You boys let up with this nonsens