Just then the janitor of the school came up out of the basement.
"It's all right!" he cried, through a white cloud of steam. "I have fixed it! I'll tell you all how it happened."
"Is the earthquake over?" asked Sammy.
"It wasn't an earthquake," said Mr. Hobb, the janitor. "Come here, and I'll tell you about it."
And while the frightened teachers and pupils are gathering back in their rooms, the danger being over, I will take a few moments to tell my new readers something about the boys and others who are to have parts in this story, and also something about the previous books in this series.
To begin with, I think you already know my three heroes—Sammy Brown, Bob Bouncer and Frank Haven. Though I have named him last in this case, Frank was generally the leader in anything he and his two chums did. Bob and Sammy thought there was no one in the world like Frank.
Sammy was rather more quiet, and his mother said more thoughtful, but if this was so, it was only because Sammy was always thinking up something to do. He was quite a reader, and liked stories of mystery, and buried treasure. He was always sure that some day he would find a hidden store of gold, or make some big discovery.
Bob Bouncer was a different sort of lad. He was full of fun, not to say mischief, and when he was around one had better look out that he did not find a funny note pinned to his coat-tail or else watch out that he did not discover a stone dropped into his pocket. But, though Bob played many jokes, they were not mean or cruel ones.
The three boys lived in the town of Fairview, on the shore of Rainbow Lake, a large body of water, in the centre of which was an extensive island.
The first book of this series was called "The Fairview
