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The Rover Boys in Southern Waters: or, The Deserted Steam Yacht
The Rover Boys in Southern Waters; or, The Deserted Steam Yacht
CHAPTER I
THE ROVER BOYS AND THEIR FRIENDS
"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."