Public-domain ebook
Language: en4,535 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Children & Young Adult Reading·Adventure·Novels
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #26539.
The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch is a juvenile adventure series that blends boarding‑school antics with frontier escapades. The opening chapter drops readers into a snowy New York boarding school where the Rover cousins and their classmates turn a simple snowball contest into a lively, mischievous episode, complete with daring ladder climbs, secret snowball deliveries, and a comically stern professor. The narrator, Edward Stratemeyer, frames the story as a continuation of earlier volumes, promising a shift from the familiar school setting to a Western ranch where “remarkable happenings await” the boys. The early pages establish the boys’ camaraderie, their penchant for pranks, and the brisk pacing that will carry them from snow‑covered barns to the open plains of the West.
The prose reflects the early‑20th‑century serial style that prized fast dialogue, vivid descriptions of youthful bravado, and a clear moral undertone. Stratemeyer’s voice is energetic and straightforward, with a touch of humor that keeps the action lively without sacrificing readability. Readers who enjoy spirited, episodic tales of daring friends, especially those who appreciate a nostalgic glimpse of school life merging with classic Western frontier drama, will find this volume an engaging ride through the Rover Boys’ world.
The opening · free to read
From their home in New York City the young Rovers were sent to a boarding school, as related in the first volume of the Second Series, entitled "The Rover Boys at Colby Hall." From that institution of learning the scene was shifted to "Snowshoe Island," where the lads spent a mid-winter outing. Then they rejoined their fellow-cadets and had some strenuous doings while "Under Canvas." After that, in a volume entitled "The Rover Boys on a Hunt," I related how they uncovered the mystery surrounding a strange house in the woods. And following this came a trip to Texas and Oklahoma, where, "In the Land of Luck," the boys aided Dick Rover in his efforts to locate some valuable oil wells.
In the present volume the scene is shifted back to Colby Hall and then to a ranch in the West where some remarkable happenings await our young heroes.
From reports received I am assured that the sale of this line of books has now passed the three million mark! This is as astonishing as it is gratifying. I sincerely trust that the reading of the volumes will do all of the boys and girls good.
Affectionately and sincerely yours, Edward Stratemeyer.
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