leading to Valley Brook farm. At the farmhouse their Uncle
Randolph and Aunt Martha stood in the dooryard to greet them.

"Back again, safe and sound!" cried Randolph Rover. "I suppose
you feel like regular sailors."

"Well, we do feel a little that way," laughed Sam, and returned
the warm kiss his aunt bestowed upon him. "It's nice to be home
once more."

"Would you rather stay here than go back to Putnam Hall?" asked
his aunt quickly.

"Oh, no, I can't say that, Aunt Marth. But it's awfully nice
here, nevertheless."

A hot supper was awaiting them, and while they ate they told of
all that had happened since they had been away. Randolph Rover
shuddered over the way Dick had been treated.

"Be careful, my boy," he said. "Remember, even your father could
not bring this Arnold Baxter to justice. He is evidently a
thorough-paced scoundrel, and his companion is probably just as
bad."

"And how goes the scientific farming, Uncle Randolph?" asked Tom,
who knew how to touch his uncle in the right spot.

"Splendidly, my boy, splendidly! I am now working on a new
rotation of crops. It will, I am certain, prove a revelation to