Edward Stratemeyer

The Rover Boys in Southern Waters Edward Stratemeyer

Publisher Marketing: "The houseboat is gone!" "Tom, what do you mean?" "I mean just what I say, Sam. The houseboat is gone-vanished, missing, disappeared, drifted away, stolen!" ejaculated Tom Rover, excitedly. "Tom, don't go on in such a crazy fashion. Do you mean to say the houseboat isn't where we left it?" "It is not, -and it is nowhere in sight on the river," returned Tom Rover. "Come, we must tell Dick and the others about this." "But we left the Dora in charge of that big planter last night," insisted the youngest of the Rover boys. "He said he would take good care of the craft." "Well, he is gone too. I hunted high and low for the houseboat, and for that planter, but without success." "Maybe the boat drifted away, with the planter on board, Tom. The current has been pretty strong since those heavy rains." "She was tied up good and tight," answered Tom Rover, his usually merry face wearing a troubled look. "I can't understand it." "I must say I didn't like that planter's manner much. He looked to be rather a sly one. Come on, let us find Dick and the others at once," went on Sam Rover. "If the houseboat has been stolen we want to know it right away, so we can get on the trail of the thief." "True for you, Sam." Tom Rover heaved a short sigh. "My! what a lot of troubles we have had since we started on this houseboat trip!" "Yes-but we have had lots of sport too." The two brothers were standing near the bank of the broad Mississippi River, just below the town of Shapette, in Louisiana. The party to which they belonged had reached the town on their journey down the Father of Waters the day before, and an hour later the houseboat had been tied up at a bend in the stream and left in charge of a planter who had appeared and volunteered for the task. Contributor Bio:  Stratemeyer, Edward Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) is known primarily for his novels for the young. Creator of such classic series as The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, and the Nancy Drew series, he also wrote many historical novels. Most, including FOR THE LIBERTY OF TEXAS, relate to the great conflicts of the nineteenth century.