where there was a tall rock and a fair-sized cove.
"Take us over there at once and I'll pay you well," said Dick. "Get out two pairs of oars, and we'll help you to row."
Slow though he was, Caleb Belcher was always anxious to earn money, and soon a rowboat was gotten ready and the three Rover boys sprang in. The old boatman followed, and the craft was headed across the lake.
"Who lives near that spot?" questioned Dick, as they swept over the calm bosom of the lake.
"Tony Carew's farm isn't far off," answered the old boatman.
"Anybody else?"
"Not that I know of."
"Do you know this Tony Carew."
"Guess I do—we went to school together, and licked each other more'n a dozen times," and Caleb Belcher chuckled over the recollection.
"All right, show us to his place," said Dick.
As soon as the shore was reached all sprang out of the boat, which was tied to a bush growing nearby. Then Caleb Belcher led the way along a trail that was rather rough. Presently they came to a road and on it an old farmhouse.
"There is Tony Carew now," said Belcher, and pointed to an old man who sat on a bench, smoking.
