When they came out on the parade ground of the encampment they found the cadets of Putnam Hall hurrying to the spot from all directions.  It was a perfect day, this fifth of July, with the sun shining brightly and a gentle breeze blowing.  The camp was as clean as a whistle, and from the tall flagstaff in front of the grounds Old Glory flapped bravely out on the air.

To those who have read “The Rover Boys at School,” and other volumes in this series, Dick, Tom, and Sam need no special introduction.  When at home they lived with their father and their aunt and uncle at Valley Brook farm, pleasantly located in the heart of New York State.  From this farm they had been sent by their uncle Randolph to Putnam Hall military academy, presided over by Captain Victor Putnam, to whom they became warmly attached.  At the academy they made many firm friends, some of whom will be introduced in the pages which follow, and also several enemies, among them Dan Baxter, the offspring of a criminal named Arnold Baxter, who, after suffering for his crimes by various terms of imprisonment, was now very sick and inclined to turn over a new leaf and become a better man.

A term at school had been followed by a remarkable chase on the ocean, and then a journey to the jungles of Africa, in a hunt after Anderson Rover, the boys’ father, who was missing.  Then had come a trip to a gold mine in the West, followed by some exciting adventures on the Great Lakes.  On an island in one of the lakes they unearthed a document relating to a treasure hidden in the Adirondack Mountains, and next made their way to that locality, in midwinter, and obtained a box containing gold, silver, and precious stones, much to their satisfaction.

After their outing in the mountains, the boys had expected to return to Putnam Hall, but a scarlet-fever scare broke out and the institution was promptly closed.  This being the case, Mr. Rover thought it best to allow his sons to visit California for their health.  This they did, and in the seventh volume of the series, entitled “The Rover Boys on Land and Sea,” I related how Sam, Tom, and Dick were carried off to sea during a violent storm, in company with Dora Stanhope, already mentioned, and her two cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning, two particular friends of Tom and Sam.  The whole party was cast away on a deserted island, and had much trouble with Dan Baxter, who joined some sailor mutineers.  Our friends were finally rescued by a United States warship which chanced to pass that way and see their signal of distress.

After reaching San Francisco once more, the Rover boys had returned to the East, while Dora Stanhope and the Lanings had gone to Santa Barbara, where Mrs. Stanhope was stopping for her health.  The scare at Putnam Hall was now over, and in another volume of the series, called “The Rover Boys in Camp,” I related how Dick, Tom, and Sam returned to the military academy again, and took part in the annual encampment.