he automobiles
which they had used earlier in the day to bring the girls to Colby
Hall. With them went as many of the other cadets and their friends as
could pile into the machines or hang fast to the running boards. All
of the ball players went in their baseball outfits, not taking time to
change to their uniforms.

The Rovers and their friends were among the first to leave the
military institution, and for this reason they got away without any
trouble. They had scarcely departed when Captain Mapes Dale, the
military instructor attached to the school, appeared and forbade any
more of the cadets to leave the grounds.

"There is no telling how dangerous those explosions may become," said
Captain Dale, "and Colonel Colby thinks it is best that you remain
here where it is comparatively safe. Even as it is, we may have some
big shells coming this way."

The Hasley Shell Loading Company had been located on the opposite
shore of Clearwater Lake for a number of years previous to the opening
of the war in Europe. But at that time it had been only a small
concern, employing but a handful of men. A year after the opening of
hostilities, however, the plant had been enlarged, and now, since the
entrance of the United States into the war, the force of workmen had
been again doubled and many additional buildings had been erected,
some along the lake front and others in the hills further back. A spur
of the railroad had also been built to the plant, and on this were
numerous cars, all painted to show the dangerous nature of the freight
they were destined to carry.

On two different occasions the Rover boys and their chums had rowed
over to the vicinity of the shell-loading works to look at what was
going on. Guards around the works, however, had kept them from landing
or even getting within a reasonable distance of the place. This, they
knew, was done because the authorities feared that some spies might
try to get into the buildings with a view to blowing them up.

"Gee, that certainly sounds like war!" cried Andy, as the explosions
continued. There was a continual popping of small shells, punctured
every now and then by a decidedly heavier explosion.

"My gracious! Look at that!" burst out Jack a moment later.

What the oldest Rover boy referred to was a curious explosion of a
quantity of shells which seemed to go up in the form of an immense
sheaf of wheat. Thousands of small objects filled the air, flying off
in all direct