Produced by Greg Weeks, Jim Towey, Mary Meehan at The Adventure Continues and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE WHITE CRYSTALS Being an Account of the Adventures of Two Boys BY HOWARD R. GARIS AUTHOR OF "WITH FORCE AND ARMS," "THE KING OF UNADILLA," "THE WHETSTONE OF SWORDS," ETC., ETC. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY BERTHA CORSON DAY BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1904 _Copyright, 1904_, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. _All rights reserved_ Published October, 1904 TO MY SON ROGER THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED [Illustration: "'No, sir,' replied Mrs. Kimball, firmly, 'I won't sign'"] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE DOCTOR'S ADVICE 1 II. THE SALT CITY 11 III. A TEST OF STRENGTH 20 IV. IN DEEP WATER 31 V. GATHERING THE HONEY 41 VI. A LOAD OF GRAPES 51 VII. LOST ON THE MOUNTAIN 61 VIII. FIGHTING A WILD-CAT 69 IX. OUT OF THE WOODS 78 X. BAD NEWS 87 XI. COPPER AND OLD BONES 99 XII. JACK FROST 110 XIII. LAFAYETTE HILL 121 XIV. A DESPERATE RACE 131 XV. STRANGERS IN TOWN 141 XVI. QUEER OPERATIONS 151 XVII. ROGER SUSPECTS 160 XVIII. A BIG BLACK BEAR 169 XIX. ROGER MAKES PLANS 177 XX. UNDERNEATH THE GROUND 187 XXI. ROGER TAKES A JOURNEY 196 XXII. A QUESTION OF LAW 208 XXIII. THE PLOTTERS FOILED 220 XXIV. DIGGING FOR SALT 229 XXV. THE LAST WRESTLING MATCH 237 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "'No, sir,' replied Mrs. Kimball, firmly, 'I won't sign'" _Frontispiece_ "Roger held up the fish pole so that Adrian could grasp it" 38 "Its forepaws struck the boy on the shoulders" 76 "The Cardiff sled left the beaten road, and plunged into the almost unbroken snow of the fields" 137 "His heart beat suddenly at the idea which came to him" 188 "Then Roger began to raise the lead to the surface" 191