Part 11 (1/2)

CHAPTER VIII

CHRISTMAS AT HOME

”Well, here we are at last. I wonder if anybody will be at the station to meet us,” said Martha Rover.

”Oh, I'm sure somebody will come down,” answered Mary.

The six Rovers had had a long and uneventful train ride from Haven Point to the Grand Central Terminal, Forty-second Street, New York City. They had had to change cars at the Junction, where some months before they had had such fun with Mr. Asa Lemm, the discharged teacher of the Hall, as related in detail in the volume previous to this. The train had been crowded with pa.s.sengers, but the Rovers had managed to get seats together, much to their satisfaction; and they had also managed to get pretty fair accommodations when it came time to go into the diner.

They had telegraphed ahead concerning their coming, and found two chauffeurs employed by d.i.c.k Rover and Tom Rover on hand to receive them and take charge of their baggage. Then they went out to the street, where they found two automobiles awaiting them, one containing Jack's mother and the other the mothers of Fred and the twins.

”h.e.l.lo, Ma!” cried the young captain, as he rushed forward to embrace his parent. ”How are you? You are looking pretty good.”

”Oh, I am feeling quite fair,” answered Mrs. d.i.c.k Rover with a smile.

”Home again, and glad of it!” exclaimed Fred, as he embraced his mother.

”My, my, but I'm glad that that term at the school is at an end!” cried Andy, as he gave Mrs. Tom Rover the hug he knew she would be expecting, a hug which was speedily duplicated by his twin. ”Hope you've got a good big dinner waiting for us. Traveling has made me hungry.”

”Not but what we had a pretty good meal on the train,” added his twin.

”You'll get all you want to-night,” answered Mrs. Tom Rover affectionately.

In the meantime Mary and Martha had come up and joined their parents.

There was a good deal of kissing and questioning, and while this was going on the chauffeurs a.s.sisted the young people to their seats and stowed away their handbaggage. There were no trunks to come, for all the young folks had left a large part of the belongings at the schools.

There was only one thing which saddened the home-coming of the young people, and that was the absence of their fathers. Although Jack had said that his mother was looking well, still he had not failed to notice that her face showed a certain paleness and some lines of care.

”Don't worry, Mother. I'm sure dad will come back all right,” he said later on, in an endeavor to comfort her.

”I am hoping so, Jack. But, oh! how I wish this awful war would come to an end,” and Mrs. d.i.c.k Rover sighed deeply.

All too quickly the next few days pa.s.sed. Young folks and old folks were busy doing their shopping for Christmas, and in addition to this, the boys went out to purchase a number of things they thought they might need while at the camp.

”I'm afraid we're in for it,” said Randy dismally, on the afternoon before Christmas. ”This looks like a regular blizzard.”

It certainly did look like a blizzard, with the snow coming down thickly and the wind blowing it first in one direction then in another. By nightfall the streets were almost impa.s.sable, and in the morning traffic along Riverside Drive was practically suspended.

”Merry Christmas!” shouted Randy, who was the first to get up.

”Merry Christmas!” replied Andy. ”And how do you like to live at the North Pole?” he added, as he glanced out of the window at the storm-bound street and the river and the Palisades beyond.

There was a grand reunion of the three families in the d.i.c.k Rover residence, and presents were exchanged all around. The boys had purchased a number of small but appropriate gifts for their mothers and the two girls, and also for the various servants of the families. In return they received a number of gifts, both useful and ornamental, including gold-mounted stylographic pens, which each one had desired, and also some new hockey skates and story books.

Martha had knit a bright sweater for her brother, and Mary had done the same for Fred, and the girls between them had likewise knit sweaters for the twins.

”We sure are the lucky kids,” remarked Andy, when all of them were looking over their gifts. ”This sweater suits me to a T. And, my! just wait until I get on those hockey skates. There won't be a thing in New York or on Clearwater Lake that will beat me.”