"Who are you anyway?" blustered Dan Baxter.
"My name is Dick Rover, if you want, to know." Dick turned to the girls. "He was annoying you, wasn't he?"
"Very much," answered the three promptly.
"Then you'll get out, Daniel Baxter."
"Supposing I refuse?"
"If you refuse, I'll pitch you out, and make a complaint to the police at our first stopping place."
"You talk big!" sneered the bully, but he was much disconcerted.
"Don't you talk back to my brother," put in Tom, who had come up.
"You think you're a regular masher, as they call such silly fellows, but I don't think your game is going to work here."
"That's it," chimed in Sam.
"Humph! three of you, eh?" muttered the bully. "We'll see about this some other time," and leaving his camp chair he made for the cabin and disappeared, from view.
"He's a bad egg," was Tom's comment, but how thoroughly bad the Rover boys were still to learn.
CHAPTER VI
FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
"I must thank you for ridding us of that fellow," said one of the girls. "He has annoyed us several times."
"It was a pleasure to assist you," answered Dick, with the politeness of a dancing master, and tipped his hat; and his brothers and Fred Garrison did the same.
After this there seemed nothing to do but to be introduced, and Dick did this for the boys, while the eldest girl acted for herself and her companions.
"My name is Dora Stanhope," she said. "These are my cousins Nellie and Grace Laning. We live at Cedarville."
"Just the place we are going to!" cried Tom. "We are bound for Putnam Hall. I suppose you know the place?"
"We do--very well," answered Dora Stanhope. "It is less than quarter of a mile away from our farm."
"And it is quite near to our place too," added Nellie Laning.
"Then perhaps we'll see more of each other," remarked Fred Garrison.
"Perhaps; but isn't Captain Putnam rather strict about letting you boys out?" questioned, Dora.
"We don't know yet--we are newcomers."
"Newcomers!" cried Nellie. "Then you don't know that fellow who was just here?"
"No. Does he belong at Putnam Hall?"
"Yes. I know nothing of him, however, further than that I have seen him several times on the Hall road."
Dick gave a low whistle.
"Perhaps we've put our foot in it," remarked Sam in a low tone to him.
"Never mind; we did what was right," answered Dick. "No fellow is justified in acting as Dan Baxter did."
"That's right."
"Tell us something about Putnam Hall, won't you?" said Fred Garrison, after a pause.
At this the three girls laughed.
"What should we know about that place?" asked Dora. "We have never been inside, excepting at one Christmas entertainment."
"But you must see some of the fellows occasionally."
"Not often," said Grace Laning. "Captain Putnam does not allow his pupils to leave the grounds excepting on special occasions.
But papa caught three of the pupils in our strawberry patch once."
"He did? And what happened to the fellows?" put in Tom with deep interest.
"Father made them pick twelve quarts of berries for him for nothing, and didn't let them eat a single one."
"Great Caesar! What a fine fellow your dad--I mean your father--must be."
"Of course he is fine. The boys had no right to attempt stealing the berries. My father would have given them some for the asking."
"But they wouldn't have been half as sweet as if they were hooked on the sly," said Tom wisely, and everybody laughed.
"You boys ought to have fine times at Putnam Hall," went on Dora to Dick. "I sometimes see the soldier boys marching; and once, last summer, I visited their encampment."
"We are looking forward to a good time,"' was the answer. "And I trust we see you again," went on Dick; and Dora blushed prettily.
The Golden Star was now approaching a little landing known as Hopedale, and all left their chairs to see the village, and people getting on and off. It was an engaging scene, and the did not return to the bow of the boat until ten minutes later, after taking a walk completely around the steamer's deck.
In the bow a surprise awaited them. During their absence Dan Baxter had appropriated four of their camp chairs and was stretched out on them as if in sleep.
"Oh, what a cheek!" cried Tom.
"Let us haul him off," suggested Sam.
"All right, come ahead," put in Fred.