Strive and Succeed E-Book

Horatio Alger

• Herausgeber: Publisher s11838
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Strive and Succeed: or The Progress of Walter Conrad written by Horatio Alger. This book is one of many works by him. Published in 1872. And now republish in ebook format. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book.

Leseprobe

Strive and Succeed

or The Progress of Walter Conrad

By

Horatio Alger

Table of Contents

PREFACE.

CHAPTER I.    WALTER CONRAD’S MISSION.

CHAPTER II.    THE SON OF GENERAL WALL.

CHAPTER III.    UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME.

CHAPTER IV.    PORTVILLE.

CHAPTER V.    A LATIN EXERCISE.

CHAPTER VI.    RECOMMENDED.

CHAPTER VII.    A NOVEL SITUATION.

CHAPTER VIII.    THE SCHOOL TRUSTEE.

CHAPTER IX.    THE FASCINATING MISS JONES.

CHAPTER X.    MR. BARCLAY’S FAREWELL.

CHAPTER XI.    TWO POETS.

CHAPTER XII.    LED BY A BOOTBLACK.

CHAPTER XIII.    A STRANGER IN NEW YORK.

CHAPTER XIV.    A FRIEND IN NEED.

CHAPTER XV.    “A BAD PENNY.”

CHAPTER XVI.    IN THE SPIDER’S WEB.

CHAPTER XVII.    SUBTLE FLATTERY.

CHAPTER XVIII.    TROUBLE IN STAPLETON.

CHAPTER XIX.    IN SEARCH OF A THIEF.

CHAPTER XX.    IN DANGER.

CHAPTER XXI.    AN EVENTFUL MONDAY.

CHAPTER XXII.    THE NEW TEACHER.

CHAPTER XXIII.    A STORM BREWING.

CHAPTER XXIV.    A PRACTICAL JOKE.

CHAPTER XXV.    A POOR GRAMMARIAN.

CHAPTER XXVI.    PUNISHING A BULLY.

CHAPTER XXVII.    REFORMATION.

CHAPTER XXVIII.    A FORTUNE AT STAKE.

CHAPTER XXIX.    THE MYSTERY OF THE MINE.

CHAPTER XXX.    A DISCOURAGING SEARCH.

CHAPTER XXXI.    JOSHUA’S ROOMMATE.

CHAPTER XXXII.    THE “CHIEF” SALESMAN.

CHAPTER XXXIII.    IN PARTNERSHIP.

CHAPTER XXXIV.    A HUMBLE POSITION.

CHAPTER XXXV.    THE EVIDENCE OF POPULARITY.

CHAPTER XXXVI.    THE CLOSE OF THE STORY.

PREFACE.

“Strive and Succeed” is reprinted from the pages of Young Israel, a New York juvenile magazine, to which it was contributed as a serial. It is complete in itself, and can be read independently; but those who have read its predecessor, “Strong and Steady,” may be interested to learn that it traces the subsequent career of Walter Conrad, showing how he continued to paddle his own canoe, and chronicles the adventures of Joshua Drummond after his flight from home.

As Walter’s success as a teacher at the West may seem to some improbable, in view of his youth, I am led to say that I know of more than one case equally remarkable, in particular that of a gentleman since prominent as a politician. The moral of the book is contained in the title. As a rule of action, I recommend it confidently to all my young readers.

New York, Oct. 1, 1872.

CHAPTER I.   WALTER CONRAD’S MISSION.

A long train was running at moderate speed over a Wisconsin railroad. Among the passengers was a stout, gentlemanly-looking boy, who looked much more than sixteen, although he had not yet reached that age. On the seat beside him was a large carpetbag, which contained all the clothing he carried with him. As the conductor passed through the car, the boy asked:

“Are we near Benton?”

“It is the next station.”

“Is that the place to take the stage for Portville?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me how far I shall have to ride in the stage?”

“A matter of ten miles or thereabouts.”

“Thank you.”

The conductor passed on, and the boy began to shake the dust from his coat, and, opening his carpetbag, deposited therein a copy of Harper’s Magazine which he had been reading. I may as well introduce him at once to the reader as Walter Conrad, whose previous adventures have been related in “Strong and Steady.” For the benefit of such of my present readers as have not read this volume, I will sketch his history in brief.

Walter Conrad, then, not quite a year since, had received, when at boarding school, the unexpected intelligence of his father’s serious illness. On reaching home, he found his parent dead. Subsequently he learned that his father had bought shares to the extent of a hundred thousand dollars in the Great Metropolitan Mining Company, and through the failure of this company had probably lost everything. This intelligence had doubtless hastened his death. Walter was, of course, obliged to leave school, and accepted temporarily an invitation from Mr. Jacob Drummond, of Stapleton, a remote kinsman, to visit him. In extending the invitation Mr. Drummond was under the illusion that Walter was the heir to a large property. On learning the truth, his manner was changed completely, and Walter, finding himself no longer welcome as a guest, proposed to enter Mr. Drummond’s store as a clerk. Being a strong and capable boy, he was readily received on board wages. The board, however, proved to be very poor, and his position was made more disagreeable by Joshua Drummond, three years older than himself, who, finding he could get nothing out of him, took a dislike to him. Walter finally left Mr. Drummond’s employ, and, led by his love of adventure, accepted an offer to travel as a book agent in Ohio. Here he was successful, though he met with one serious adventure, involving him in some danger, but was finally led to abandon the business at the request of Clement Shaw, his father’s executor, for the following reason:

The head of the Great Metropolitan Mining Company, through whom his father had been led to invest his entire fortune in it, was a man named James Wall, a specious and plausible man, through whose mismanagement it was believed it had failed. He was strongly suspected of conspiring to make a fortune out of it at the expense of the other stockholders. He had written to Mr. Shaw, offering the sum of two thousand dollars for the thousand shares now held by Walter, an offer which the executor did not feel inclined to accept until he knew that it was made in good faith. He, therefore, wrote to Walter to change his name and go on to Portville, the home of Mr. Wall, and there use all his shrewdness to discover what he could of the position of the mining company, and Mr. Wall’s designs in relation thereto. It may be added that after selling the balance of the estate, Walter was found entitled to five hundred dollars. He had, besides, cleared eighty-seven dollars net profit on his sales as book agent.

Such is Walter’s story, though, for the present, we shall have to call our hero Gilbert Howard—an assumed name, which he had adopted at the executor’s suggestion, lest his real name might excite the suspicions of Mr. Wall and so defeat the purpose of his journey.

Walter had scarcely made his preparations to leave the cars, when the whistle sounded, and the train, gradually slackening its speed, came to a stop.

“Benton!” called the conductor, rapidly, half opening the door.

“I am near my journey’s end,” thought Walter.

Several passengers descended from the train and gathered on the platform. Among them, of course, was our hero.

A shabby-looking stage stood just beside the station house. Knowing that it was a ten miles’ journey, and important to get a comfortable seat, Walter passed through the building, and took a seat inside. Several other passengers followed leisurely until the carriage was nearly full. While Walter was wondering how soon they would start, a gentleman, accompanied by a boy of about Walter’s age, approached the driver, who was about to take his seat.

“Didn’t you see anything of my carriage, Abner?”

“No, General Wall,” said Abner, respectfully. “I didn’t see it anywhere on the road.”

“That is very strange,” muttered Mr. Wall, discontentedly. “I told Henry to drive over for me. Are you sure you might not have passed without seeing it?”

“I’d have seed it if it had been on the road,” said Abner, with more emphasis than strict adherence to grammatical rules.

“I suppose we must ride with you, then,” said Mr. Wall. “Can you give us seats inside?”

The driver came to the door, and, opening it, looked in.

“There’s one seat,” he said. “Your son can ride outside with me.”

John Wall evidently did not fancy this arrangement. The fact was that it was beginning to sprinkle, and, being nicely dressed, he did not want to get wet.

“I want to ride inside,” he said.

“I’d like to accommodate you,” said the driver, “but there’s only room for one.”

“I don’t see why I haven’t as good right to a seat inside as anybody else,” said John, in a grumbling tone.

John Wall was rather a stout, freckle-faced boy, dressed with some pretension to style, and sporting a pair of kid gloves. He secretly considered himself to be unusually good-looking, and on the strength of his father’s wealth gave himself airs of superiority to which he was not entitled. His manners were decidedly arrogant and overbearing, and he was far from being a favorite in Portville, although a great many things, which would not have been excused in another less favored by fortune, were forgiven him on account of his father’s wealth.

“I’d like to stretch the inside of the stage if I could,” said Abner, good-naturedly, “but that ain’t easy.”

“You may sit in my lap, John,” said his father.

“I’d rather not,” said John, sullenly.

“Then I think you will have to make up your mind to sit with Abner.”

“I ain’t going to spoil my clothes,” growled the discontented boy.

“Here is an umbrella for you,” said his father.

Meanwhile John had been peering into the coach and espied Walter on the back seat. Accustomed to regard his own convenience as a matter of more importance than that of anybody else, he was led to make a very selfish proposal.

“There’s a boy inside,” he said. “Perhaps he’ll get outside and give me his seat.”

This proposal struck Walter as refreshingly cool, but having a sense of what was due to himself, and always having been in the habit of standing up for his rights, he did not propose to gratify John.

“Thank you,” said he, dryly; “I’d rather keep my seat.”

“But I don’t want to get wet.”

“Nor I,” said Walter.

“I don’t see why I haven’t as much right to ride inside as he,” grumbled John, turning to the driver.

“So you would, and better, too, if you’d got in first,” said Abner, rather disgusted at John’s selfishness. “But I must be starting. So if you’re going along with me, you’d better climb up.”

“I’ll give you twenty-five cents if you’ll give me your seat,” said John, making a last appeal to Walter.

“Thank you,” said Walter, coldly; “I’m not in want of money.”

“Get up without any more fuss, John,” said his father, impatiently.

Very discontentedly John climbed up to the box and took his seat beside the driver. He felt very angry with our hero for declining to sacrifice his own convenience to him. It appeared to him that, as the son of General Wall, the richest man in Portville, he had a right to the best of everything.

“Do you know who that boy is, that wouldn’t give me his seat?” he asked of Abner.

“Never saw him before,” said the driver.

“Is he going to Portville?”

“Yes, so he told me.”

“Do you know where he is going to stop?”

“No, he didn’t tell me.”

“Do you think it’s going to rain much?”

“I reckon it will be a smart sprinkle. You’d better take off them kid gloves of your’n if you don’t want them spoiled.”

“I don’t see why that boy wouldn’t give me his seat. He hasn’t got on as good clothes as I have,” grumbled John.

“Well, if your clothes are spoiled your father’s got money enough to buy you some new ones,” said Abner.

“That’s true,” said John, with an air of importance. “My father’s very rich.”

“I expect you’ll be rich, too, some day,” said Abner.

“I expect I shall,” said John, complacently. “I’m going to be a lawyer.”

“All right,” said the driver, jocosely; “I’ll give you all my law business.”

“Oh, I shan’t settle down here,” said John, loftily. “I’m going to Detroit or Chicago. I want to be in a big place.”

“I reckon you’ll be too smart for Portville,” said Abner, with sly sarcasm.

“I guess I can do as well as any of the city lawyers,” said John. “I am reading Cæsar already.”

“Who’s he?”

“A Latin author.”

“You don’t say! You must know a mighty lot.”

“Oh, it ain’t hard when you’re used to it,” said John, condescendingly.

The rain subsided, and John had the satisfaction of saving his clothes from injury, so that he ended the journey in a more amiable frame of mind than could have been anticipated.

CHAPTER II.   THE SON OF GENERAL WALL.

Mr. Wall, or General Wall, as he was commonly designated in Portville, as a kind of tribute to his wealth, for he had no other right to the title, took a seat opposite Walter. Our hero examined him with some attention. This, then, was the man who had ruined his father by his plausible misrepresentations—who even now, perhaps, was conspiring to defraud him, and probably others. Under ordinary circumstances he would have been favorably impressed by his appearance. He had a popular manner, and was quite a good-looking man, much more agreeable than his son, who, it was safe to predict, would never win popularity unless his manners were greatly changed for the better.