Part 8 (1/2)
”Good for you!” cried Sam, with a grin. ”This will certainly wake up the natives.”
”See if you can get d.i.c.k to help us. But be careful-I want to surprise all the rest, even Stanley.”
”I'll get him,” answered Sam, and hurried off.
A little later, when it was quite dark, the three Rover boys shouldered the big box and carried it to the edge of the woods beside the campus.
Then they opened the box and took out the fireworks.
”Guess we'll send up a few bombs first, just to wake everybody up,” said Tom.
A minute later a large-sized bomb went whistling upward in the air. It flew high over the college building, to burst with a deafening report.
”h.e.l.lo, what's that?” yelled several.
”Who fired that shot?”
”Did a cannon go off?”
”It was an aerial bomb-and there goes another!” cried Allen Charter.
”Somebody is celebrating in earnest.”
All of the students on the campus stared at the bombs in wonder, while others came rus.h.i.+ng from various buildings, to learn the meaning of the reports.
”Who shot off the cannon?” stormed Professor Sharp. ”It's against the rules to shoot off that cannon without permission.”
”It wasn't the cannon, Professor,” explained Frank Holden. ”It was a bomb. Somebody--”
Boom! went another bomb, and it was right over the professor's head. The professor was scared and ducked wildly.
”I want the person who is doing that--” he commenced, but got no further, for just then a big rocket went hissing through the air, to burst a second later and let fall a beautiful shower of golden rain.
”Oh, isn't that grand!”
”Say, this is something like!”
”Must be that Doctor Wallington meant to surprise us.”
Far into the sky flew two more rockets, one letting fall some chains of red, white and blue and the other some strange fish-like shapes that darted hither and thither.
”This is certainly all to the merry!” murmured Stanley. ”It's as good as a Fourth of July exhibition.”
”Look at the Roman candles!” cried Max, pointing over to the woods. From among the trees three large Roman candles were sending their b.a.l.l.s of various colors high into the air.
”This is a surprise and no mistake,” murmured Doctor Wallington, as he gazed at the fireworks.
”Didn't you know about them, Doctor?” questioned Allen Charter.
”No. It must be the work of some students.”
”I'm going to see who is doing it!” cried Stanley, and ran for the woods, followed by a score of others.