hope it is some trip--I love to travel," and his brothers nodded
their heads in approval.

To those who have read any of the twelve previous volumes in this
"Rover Boys Series" the three brothers will need no special
introduction. For the benefit of new readers allow me to state that
Dick was the oldest, fun-loving Tom next, and Sam the youngest. They
were the sons of Anderson Rover, a widower and rich mine owner. The
father was a great traveler, and for years the boys had made their
home with their uncle, Randolph Rover, and their Aunt Martha, on a
farm called Valley Brook, in the heart of New York state.

From the farm, and while their father was in Africa, the boys had been
sent to Putnam Hall, as related in the first volume of this series,
entitled, "The Rover Boys at School." At the Hall they made a score of
friends and several enemies, some of which will be introduced later. A
term at school was followed by a trip on the ocean, and then one into
the jungles of the Dark Continent in search of Mr. Rover, who had
mysteriously disappeared. Then the Rover boys went out west and to the
great lakes, and later spent a fine time hunting in the mountains.
They likewise spent some time in camp with their fellow cadets, and
during the summer vacation took a long trip on land and sea. Then they
returned home, and during another vacation sailed down the Ohio River
in a houseboat, spent some time on the plains, took an unexpected trip
to southern waters, and then came back to the farm.

On getting back home, as related in the twelfth volume of this series,
called "The Rover Boys on the Farm," the boys had imagined that
adventures for them were a thing of the past. They were willing to
take it easy, but this was not to be. Some bad men, including a