The Rambler Club Afloat

A stout boy of pleasing appearance lay indolently in the shade of a group of willows which fringed the bank of a small brook. It was one of those early summer days when nature i...

The idea of forming a club had long been uppermost in Bob Somers' mind. During the preceding year, he and his four chums had spent much of their time together, and the experienc...

It seemed as if the boys had suddenly taken leave of their senses. Joining hands, they danced around and around, and a succession of lusty shouts echoed over the surrounding hills.

The extraordinary appearance of Nat Wingate was, of course, observed by Mr. Somers, but the gentleman did not have his curiosity immediately gratified. He was surrounded by the...

When "Captain Bob" appeared at the wharf, he was greeted by Tom Clifton and Dick Travers. Sam Randall soon after came hastening along, and last of all, as everybody expected, th...

"See here, Dick Travers, I won't stand any impudence," stormed Nat. "You fellows don't know how to run a boat. Just look at that yard of paint your old tub scraped off!"

"He ought to be arrested," chimed in Travers, indignantly. His fists, tightly clenched, he shook toward the captain of the Nimrods, who was standing at the wheel with a peculiar...

The situation of their camp, in a fertile little valley, was found to have so many attractions that the Ramblers, by a unanimous vote, decided to spend all of the following day...

Breakfast was eaten with the rising sun. Shortly after, the exhaust of the "Nimrod" sounded and almost immediately she came in view. The work of mooring her alongside the "Rambl...

Dave Brandon was not averse to being left alone. Nature, in its wildness and solitude, appealed to him forcibly, and he loved to contemplate it in silence and with naught to dis...

"I never was so completely mystified in my life," returned the leader of the Nimrods, who accepted the situation with a coolness that greatly surprised his followers. "It looks...

Mr. Somers' wisdom in selecting a boat with breadth of beam was now apparent. Had the "Rambler" been a narrow craft, the task which confronted the members of the club would have...

In his haste, the lad slipped, falling directly over the sleeping form of the poet laureate. Dave awoke with an exclamation. At the same instant, a wild, unearthly screech arous...

"Did you ever hear of such a thing?" howled Nat, encouraged by his chief lieutenant's attitude. "If you want to stir up the biggest scrap you ever heard of, Sam Randall, just sa...

As the Ramblers drew near the island, a picturesque and lively sight met their gaze. Merry-go-rounds, switchback railways, buildings decorated with gilt and splashes of bright c...

A great burst of flame, capped by a mass of heavy smoke, shot violently upward at this moment, followed by the report of an explosion. A thousand particles scattered in all dire...

"Little and big fishes, if that isn't the worst I ever heard!" cried Kirk, with wide-open eyes. "Haven't you any idea who could have worked such a game on you?"

During the afternoon, Bob Somers and his companions strolled around town. They paid the "Nimrod" a visit, in the expectation of seeing the Trailers, but, of course, the latter f...

"The mist is coming up worse than ever, boys," observed Bob Somers, as he sat on the forward part of the "Nimrod"; "think you had better hug the shore, Nat."

It was a quiet summer night, not unpleasantly warm, but with no wind stirring. The boys, however, did not fall asleep with the readiness that their tired feelings led them to ex...

"Five days marooned on an island? Five days fighting mosquitoes? Well, well, boys, you have had a time of it, sure enough. You're almost as brown as Indians--every one of you."

"But it will be nothing to the way that poor old 'Hacky' is going to feel. My, but isn't he in a state of mind! Ha, ha, ha! Just think of the whole crowd being taken back to Kin...

"The whole thing must have been started on the very day that Mr. Wingate came down to look at the 'Rambler.' Probably he only gave Nat a boat so that he could follow us."

During the course of the meal, Bob took from his inside pocket a wallet. It contained a letter which Mr. Somers had sent to his agent. The inscription on the envelope read:

All the facts became known at a stormy meeting between Mr. Wingate and Jenkins, which took place in the house on Chelten Road. Nat's uncle was very angry when he learned of Mr....