The Store Boy by Jr. Horatio Alger (romantic novels in english txt) π
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- Author: Jr. Horatio Alger
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THE STORE BOY By Horato Alger, Jr.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I β BEN BARCLAY MEETS A TRAMP
CHAPTER II β BEN AND HIS MOTHER
CHAPTER III β MRS. BARCLAY'S CALLERS
CHAPTER IV β UNPLEASANT BUSINESS
CHAPTER V β PROFESSOR HARRINGTON'S ENTERTAINMENT
CHAPTER VI β TWO YOUNG RIVALS
CHAPTER VII β THE TRAMP MAKES ANOTHER CALL
CHAPTER VIII β SQUIRE DAVENPORT'S FINANCIAL OPERATION
CHAPTER IX β A PROSPECT OF TROUBLE
CHAPTER X β BEN GOES TO NEW YORK
CHAPTER XI β THE MADISON AVENUE STAGE
CHAPTER XII β BEN'S LUCK
CHAPTER XIII β A STARTLING EVENT
CHAPTER XIV β BEN SHOWS HIMSELF A HERO
CHAPTER XV β BEN LOSES HIS PLACE
CHAPTER XVI β BEN FINDS TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT
CHAPTER XVII β WHAT THE LETTER CONTAINED
CHAPTER XVIII β FAREWELL TO PENTONVILLE
CHAPTER XIX β A COOL RECEPTION
CHAPTER XX β ENTERING UPON HIS DUTIES
CHAPTER XXI β AT THE THEATER
CHAPTER XXII β A MYSTERIOUS LETTER
CHAPTER XXIII β BEN'S VISIT TO THIRTY-FIRST STREET
CHAPTER XXIV β BEN ON TRIAL
CHAPTER XXV β CONRAD TAKES A BOLD STEP
CHAPTER XXVI β MR. LYNX, THE DETECTIVE
CHAPTER XXVII β THE TELLTALE TICKET
CHAPTER XXVIII β MRS. HILL'S MALICE
CHAPTER XXIX β SOME UNEXPECTED CHANGES
CHAPTER XXX β BEN "GOES WEST"
CHAPTER XXXI β MR. JACKSON RECEIVES A CALL
CHAPTER XXXII β BEN SELLS THE FARM
CHAPTER XXXIII β GOOD NEWS
CHAPTER XXXIV β CONRAD GOES INTO WALL STREET
CHAPTER XXXV β TURNING THE TABLES
CHAPTER XXXVI β A LETTER FROM ROSE GARDINER
CHAPTER XXXVII β BEN'S VISIT TO PENTONVILLE
CHAPTER XXXVIII β CONCLUSION
CHAPTER I β BEN BARCLAY MEETS A TRAMP
"Give me a ride?"
Ben Barclay checked the horse he was driving and looked attentively at the speaker. He was a stout-built, dark-complexioned man, with a beard of a week's growth, wearing an old and dirty suit, which would have reduced any tailor to despair if taken to him for cleaning and repairs. A loose hat, with a torn crown, surmounted a singularly ill-favored visage.
"A tramp, and a hard looking one!" said Ben to himself.
He hesitated about answering, being naturally reluctant to have such a traveling companion.
"Well, what do you say?" demanded the tramp rather impatiently. "There's plenty of room on that seat, and I'm dead tired."
"Where are you going?" asked Ben.
"Same way you areβto Pentonville."
"You can ride," said Ben, in a tone by means cordial, and he halted his horse till his unsavory companion climbed into the wagon.
They were two miles from Pentonville, and Ben had a prospect of a longer ride than he desired under the circumstances. His companion pulled out a dirty clay pipe from his pocket, and filled it with tobacco, and then explored another pocket for a match. A muttered oath showed that he failed to find one.
"Got a match, boy?" he asked.
"No," answered Ben, glad to have escaped the offensive fumes of the pipe.
"Just my luck!" growled the tramp, putting back the pipe with a look of disappointment. "If you had a match now, I wouldn't mind letting you have a whiff or two.
"I don't smoke," answered Ben, hardly able to repress a look of disgust.
"So you're a good boy, eh? One of the Sunday school kids that want to be an angel, hey? Pah!" and the tramp exhibited the disgust which the idea gave him.
"Yes, I go to Sunday school," said Ben coldly, feeling more and more repelled by his companion.
"I never went to Sunday school," said his companion. "And I wouldn't. It's only good for milksops and hypocrites."
"Do you think you're any better for not going?" Ben couldn't help asking.
"I haven't been so prosperous, if that's what you mean. I'm a straightforward man, I am. You always know where to find me. There ain't no piety about me. What are you laughin' at?"
"No offense," said Ben. "I believe every word you say."
"You'd better. I don't allow no man to doubt my word, nor no boy, either. Have you got a quarter about you?"
"No."
"Nor a dime? A dime'll do."
"I have no money to spare."
"I'd pay yer to-morrer."
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