The Rover Boys Under Canvas Or The Mystery of the Wrecked Submarine Part 20

"Better make it two thousand," came from Slogwell Brown.

There was an exclamation from the strange men, and then the voices sounded lower so that the Rovers could not hear what was being said.

Suddenly, however, one of the strangers cried out:

"Oh, I forgot! I have an important engagement in less than half an hour. I must go at once."

"I guess it's time we got out of here!" exclaimed Jack, and started to retreat, as did the others.

The Rover boys had just reached a place in front of the elevators when the door to one of the back offices opened and much to their surprise Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown came out. Evidently they had been sent off by their fathers while their parents had been doing business with the two strange men.

"h.e.l.lo! what are you fellows doing here?" grumbled Nappy, gazing at them suspiciously.

"Did my father come up here?" questioned Randy, before the others could speak. "We want to see him," continued the quick-witted Rover.

"Maybe he's in Mr. Benson's office, fellows," he added. "Come on."

There was a Mr. Benson on that floor with an office in the rear.

Without saying another word to Nappy or Slugger, the Rover boys marched to the door of the Benson place, knocked, and went in.

"Say, that was a neat trick, all right enough," whispered Jack to Randy. "But now you've got us into it, you'll have to get us out."

"Humph! that's easy enough," was the ready reply. "Just leave it to me."

A clerk came up, looking inquiringly at the boys.

"Excuse me, but did my father come up here?" questioned Randy innocently. And then, as the clerk looked puzzled, he added: "I am Randy Rover. My father is Thomas Rover of The Rover Company."

"Oh, I see!" and the clerk smiled. "No, I don't think your father came up here, but I'll ask Mr. Benson." The clerk disappeared into an inner office, to reappear a moment later. "Sorry, but your father hasn't been up here to-day."

"Thank you," returned Randy; and then he and the others backed themselves out.

The stairway was close at hand, and a few seconds later the four Rover boys were on the fourth floor. Here they waited for the elevator, and soon found themselves on the ground floor, and from that walked to the street.

"Let's hang around and see if that fellow really goes away," advised Fred.

This they did, and in a few minutes saw the two German-looking men come from the building. They seemed to be in a great hurry, and lost no time in disappearing up Wall Street in the direction of Broadway.

"I wonder if we hadn't better follow them?" said Fred.

"It might be rather a long-winded job, and we haven't time," answered Jack.

"Let us stay around until my father is at leisure," said Randy. "Then we can tell him what we have heard and see what he thinks of it." And so it was decided.

CHAPTER XIII

FUN AT THE RAILROAD STATION

"There may be a good deal in this, and there may be nothing at all,"

were Tom Rover's words, after he had listened to the story the boys had to tell. "This may be a perfectly legitimate business transaction, although, as I have said before, Nelson Martell has been known to go into more than one shady transaction here in Wall Street. Generally, however, he just manages to escape falling into the clutches of the law."

"Yes, but Dad! you must remember how Mr. Brown tried to treat old Barney Stevenson," broke in Randy.

"Yes, I remember that," answered his father. "And I have heard that Brown is no more reliable than is Martell. But to know a fact is one thing, to prove it in a court of law is another."

"And those two strangers were certainly Germans," said Andy.

"I'll look into this a little further as soon as I get time," said Tom Rover, after a moment of thought. "And perhaps I'll speak to one of the Secret Service men about it. It certainly will do no harm to have these men watched for a few days."

A little later Tom Rover was through with his labors at his office, and then he and the boys returned to the homes on Riverside Drive. The father of the twins had to go out in the evening, and the boys spent the time at home with their mothers and the girls.

"We can't go straight through to Haven Point this morning," announced Jack, on the following day, when they had arrived at the railroad terminal. "They are s.h.i.+pping some soldiers and some naval supplies, and the road is somewhat balled up. The gateman told me we should have to make two changes."

All of the mothers had come down to see the young folks off. Jack and Fred, as well as their sisters, felt particularly sorry for their parents, now left entirely alone so far as their own families were concerned.

"But never mind, Ma," said Martha. "The term at Clearwater Hall will soon be at an end, and then we'll be home again."

"And don't forget that we are to pay a visit to Camp Huxwell if the authorities will permit it and dad is still there," added Mary to her parent.

"Sure! we'll all go," cried Fred.

Owing to war conditions, there was no parlor car on the train, but the boys and girls managed to get seats together, for which they were thankful. They made themselves as comfortable as possible, and then settled down to read their newspapers and magazines, or gaze out of the window at the scenes which were flas.h.i.+ng by.

There was no dining car on this train, but from the conductor the young folks learned that they would have to change at a place called Raymonton, and they would there have half an hour in which to get lunch.

"I can get all I want in less time than that, provided it's to be had," said Fred. "We can go to the lunch room just as soon as the train gets in."

Raymonton was nothing but an overgrown village containing but a handful of stores, a church, a garage, and a canning factory, with the houses occupying half a dozen straggly-looking streets. There was only a small and not an altogether inviting-looking lunch room, and here the bill-of-fare was decidedly meagre.

A tall, angular Irish girl waited on them. She was pleasant enough, and smiled broadly at the twins' jokes. She served them with sandwiches, cake, pie, and hot chocolate, and they also purchased from her a bag of grapes and pears.

"I told you we'd have plenty of time," remarked Fred, looking at a clock on the wall. "We have still ten minutes to spare."

"I think I'll get a shoe-s.h.i.+ne," said Jack. "I saw a bootblack outside roaming around doing nothing. If I give him work it may keep him out of mischief."

At the end of the railroad platform was a stand devoted to the sale of newspapers and periodicals, chewing gum and candy. There was also a rack with postcards, and the girls busied themselves at this, picking out such cards as they desired. Not far from where the stand was located stood a long auto-stage, marked "_Raymonton to Clappville.

Fare 10 Cents._" On the seat of the stage sat an elderly driver, smoking, and the bus contained one or two men and several women and children, evidently waiting for the stage to start on its journey.

Jack had just finished having his shoes polished when he and the other boys noticed a man at the newsstand talking to the proprietor. Both men appeared to be out of sorts.

"Sorry, Sir, but you can't have that magazine!" they heard the stand keeper exclaim.

"I'd like to know why not!" demanded the would-be customer. "I am ready to pay for it."

"That's all right--but you can't have it! I get only two copies of that magazine, and one is for the hotel and the other for Doctor Johnson's daughter. They both take it regular."

"Humph! I guess you don't want any customers," growled the other man savagely. "Well, if you don't want to sell me any of your old magazines you can keep them! I guess I can get all the magazines I want elsewhere." And the man stalked off in haughty anger.