In the morning he bathed his eyes again, as Doctor Borden had directed.

He had been excused from his cla.s.sroom, and so sat around where he could readily be called to the telephone if any message came in for him. It was not until about eleven o'clock that his sister rang him up.

"The doctor left a few minutes ago," said Martha over the wire. "He was with Ruth about half an hour, and gave her quite a treatment. He was very much encouraged, and said he thought she would come around again all right in a few days, but that she must be careful for several weeks about how she strained her eyes or went out in the wind."

"But he really thinks she will come around all right?" questioned Jack anxiously.

"Yes, Jack, he was almost sure of it. And, oh! I am so glad, and so are all the other girls."

"Well, it's a great relief to me, Martha," he returned, and his voice showed what a weight had been lifted from his mind.

After that the days to the end of the term pa.s.sed quickly. There were the usual examinations, and all of the Rovers were glad to learn that they had pa.s.sed successfully. In the meanwhile Jack's eyes continued to mend, so that on the final day at the Hall they felt practically as good as ever.

The young captain and Fred had gone over to Clearwater Hall, ostensibly to call on their sisters, but in reality to find out about Ruth. She came down to greet them, and they were surprised and delighted to find that she no longer wore the bandage over her eyes.

"I can't go out in the strong sunlight yet, nor in the wind," said the girl. "Nor can I do much reading or studying. But the eyes no longer pain me, and for that I am very thankful."

"Doctor Borden says it will take a week or two before her eyes are normal again," explained Martha. "But that isn't so bad when you consider what might have occurred," and she gave a little shiver.

Colby Hall was to close several days before the girls' school, but the two Rover girls had received permission to go home with their brothers.

This was the last chance Jack had of seeing Ruth, and the last chance that Fred would have to see May, and both made the most of it.

"I'll write to you, sure, Ruth," said the young captain. "And I hope your eyes will allow you to reply."

"Oh, I'll send you something, Jack, even if it's only a postal," was the quick answer. "Please don't worry about me. I am sure my eyes will come around all right sooner or later."

"If they don't I'll never forgive myself for taking you on that outing,"

said the young captain feelingly.

With the examinations at an end, the Colby Hall cadets were allowed to do very much as they pleased, and on the last night at school there was the usual horseplay and cutting up generally. Some boys tried to catch Stowell, but the sneak of the school outwitted them by receiving permission to leave the Hall twelve hours early.

"Well, good riddance to bad rubbish!" announced Fatty Hendry, when he heard of this. "I think Colby Hall could get along very well if Stowell stayed away for good."

"I'm sure I wouldn't worry if he did stay away," returned Walt Baxter.

"And now hurrah for little old New York!" cried Andy, on the following morning.

"Little old New York and our dads!" added his twin.

"I wonder if they have arrived yet?" put in Fred quickly. "I don't think so, or they would have sent us a telegram."

"Either that, or they want to surprise us when we get there," said Jack.

Their trunks had been sent on ahead, and directly after breakfast they set to work to finish packing their suitcases. Then they went around saying good-bye to the professors and Colonel Colby, and did not forget "Shout" Plunger and Bob Nixon, giving the latter some tips to remember them by.

"Off at last!" cried Fred, as the auto-stage rumbled up to take the first crowd of boys to the railroad station. In they piled, and were soon whirled away in the direction of Haven Point.

At the railroad station they were met by Martha and Mary. The other girls could not come, as all had examinations that morning. Soon the train rolled in, and the Rovers and a number of the other cadets piled in, Jack and Fred being accompanied by their sisters.

"I'll be glad to get home again and see mother and Aunt Grace and Aunt Nellie," remarked Martha, as she settled herself in a seat beside her brother.

"And how about dad, Martha?" questioned Jack.

"You don't have to ask that question," she returned quickly. "You know I am just as crazy to see him as you are. And I'm crazy to see Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam, too."

"I'll bet they'll have some stories to tell about their doings in France."

"Yes, indeed, Jack. Oh, how they all must have suffered! And how thankful I am that they are coming back to us whole and hearty. Just think if they had come back minus an arm or a leg, or frightfully injured in some other way!"

"I have thought of that, Martha, more than once. I can tell you, when I think of the thousands of good, strong, healthy young fellows who went over there and gave up their lives or came back crippled, I feel that our folks have much to be thankful for."

CHAPTER XV

BACK FROM FRANCE

The journey to New York City was uneventful. They had to change cars at the Junction, and here a number of the other cadets left the Rovers.

These included Gif and Spouter.

"Sorry you're not going down to the city with us," said Jack; "but I suppose you are as anxious to see your folks as we are to see ours."

"Right you are," answered Spouter. And Gif nodded his head to show that he agreed with his chum.

When the train rolled into the Grand Central Terminal at Forty-second Street the Rovers found two automobiles awaiting them, and in the turn-outs were the three mothers of the boys and girls.

"What's the news about dad, Ma?" burst out Jack, as he kissed his parent.

"Have the soldiers come back yet?" was Fred's question.

"They haven't got in yet, but we are expecting them almost any time now," answered Mrs. d.i.c.k Rover.

"We are just as anxious as you are to see them," came from Mrs. Tom Rover, as both of her sons gave her a warm hug. "There, there! don't smother me!" she added affectionately.

"Oh, it's so good to be home again!" exclaimed Mary. "Boarding school is all well enough, but I'd rather be with you folks any time." Mary had always been a good deal of a home girl.

The young folks piled into the cars, which were run by the Rovers'

chauffeurs, and in a moment more they were picking their way through the crowded traffic in the direction of Fifth Avenue. They speeded up this noted thoroughfare and then across town to Riverside Drive.

"What is the matter with your eyes, Jack?" questioned his mother presently. "They look rather inflamed."

"Oh, I had a little run-in with one of our old enemies," returned the young captain. "I'll tell you about it later."

"It's poor Ruth Stevenson that got the worst of it," broke in Martha.

"We may as well tell mother," she added. "She ought to know it."

"I wish you boys would stop making enemies," sighed Mrs. Rover. "Sooner or later they may cause you a lot of trouble."