Part 1 — CONTENTS
Reading edition
CHAPTER I. Squire Hawkins and His Tennessee Land—He Decides to Remove to Missouri
CHAPTER II. He Meets With and Adopts the Boy Clay
CHAPTER III Uncle Daniel’s Apparition and PrayeR
CHAPTER IV The Steamboat Explosion
CHAPTER V Adoption of the Little Girl Laura—Arrival at Missouri—Reception by Colonel Beriah Sellers
CHAPTER VI Trouble and Darkness in the Hawkins Family—Proposed Sale of the Tennessee Land
CHAPTER VII Colonel Sellers at Home—His Wonderful Clock and Cure for Rheumatism
CHAPTER VIII Colonel Sellers Makes Known His Magnificent Speculation Schemes and Astonishes Washington Hawkins
CHAPTER IX Death of Judge Hawkins
CHAPTER X Laura Hawkins Discovers a Mystery in Her Parentage and Grows Morbid Under the Village Gossip
CHAPTER XI A Dinner with Col Sellers—Wonderful Effects of Raw Turnips
CHAPTER XII Philip Sterling and Henry Brierly—Arrangements to Go West as Engineers
CHAPTER XIII Rail—Road Contractors and Party Traveling—Philip and Harry form the Acquaintance of Col Sellers
CHAPTER XIV Ruth Bolton and Her Parents
CHAPTER XV Visitors of the Boltons—Mr Bigler “Sees the Legislature”—Ruth Bolton Commences Medical Studies
CHAPTER XVI The Engineers Detained at St Louis—Off for Camp—Reception by Jeff
CHAPTER XVII The Engineer Corps Arrive at Stone’s Landing
CHAPTER XVIII Laura and Her Marriage to Colonel Selby—Deserted and Returns to Hawkeye
CHAPTER XIX Harry Brierly Infatuated With Laura and Proposes She Visit Washington
CHAPTER XX Senator Abner Dilwortliy Visits Hawkeye—Addresses the People and Makes the Acquaintance of Laura 186
CHAPTER XXI Ruth Bolton at Fallkill Seminary—The Montagues—Ruth Becomes Quite Gay—Alice Montague
CHAPTER XXII Philip and Harry Visit Fallkill—Harry Does the Agreeable to Ruth
CHAPTER XXIII Harry at Washington Lobbying For An Appropriation For Stone’s Landing —Philip in New York Studying Engineering
CHAPTER XXIV Washington and Its Sights—The Appropriation Bill Reported From the Committee and Passed
CHAPTER XXV Energetic Movements at Stone’s Landing—Everything Booming—A Grand Smash Up
CHAPTER XXVI The Boltons—Ruth at Home—Visitors and Speculations
CHAPTER XXVII Col Sellers Comforts His Wife With His Views on the Prospects
CHAPTER XXVIII Visit to Headquarters in Wall Street—How Appropriations Are Obtained and Their Cost
CHAPTER XXIX Philip’s Experience With the Rail—Road Conductor—Surveys His Mining Property
CHAPTER XXX Laura and Col Sellers Go To Washington On Invitation of Senator Dilworthy
CHAPTER XXXI Philip and Harry at the Boltons’—Philip Seriously Injured—Ruth’s First Case of Surgery
CHAPTER XXXII Laura Becomes a Famous Belle at Washington
CHAPTER XXXIII Society in Washington—The Antiques, the Parvenus, and the Middle Aristocracy
CHAPTER XXXIV Grand Scheme For Disposing of the Tennessee Land—Laura and Washington Hawkins Enjoying the Reputation of Being Millionaires
CHAPTER XXXV About Senators—Their Privileges and Habits
CHAPTER XXXVI An Hour in a Book Store
CHAPTER XXXVII Representative Buckstone and Laura’s Strategic Coquetry
CHAPTER XXXVIII Reception Day in Washington—Laura Again Meets Col. Selby and the Effect Upon Her
CHAPTER XXXIX Col. Selby Visits Laura and Effects a Reconciliation
CHAPTER XL Col. Sellers’ Career in Washington—Laura’s Intimacy With Col. Selby is Talked About
CHAPTER XLI Harry Brierly Becomes Entirely Infatuated With Laura—Declares His Love and Gets Laughed At
CHAPTER XLII How The Hon Mr Trollop Was Induced to Vote For Laura’s Bill
CHAPTER XLIII Progress of the Bill in the House
CHAPTER XLIV Philip in Washington—Visits Laura
CHAPTER XLV The Passage of the Bill in the House of Representatives
CHAPTER XLVI Disappearance of Laura, and Murder of Col. Selby in New York
CHAPTER XLVII Laura in the Tombs and Her Visitors
CHAPTER XLVIII Mr Bolton Says Yes Again—Philip Returns to the Mines
CHAPTER XLIX The Coal Vein Found and Lost Again—Philip and the Boltons—Elated and Then Cruelly Disappointed 443
CHAPTER L Philip Visits Fallkill and Proposes Studying Law With Mr Montague—The Squire Invests in the Mine—Ruth Declares Her Love for Philip
CHAPTER LI Col Sellers Enlightens Washington Hawkins on the Customs of Congress
CHAPTER LII How Senator Dilworthy Advanced Washington’s Interests
CHAPTER LIII Senator Dilworthy Goes West to See About His Re—election—He Becomes a Shining Light
CHAPTER LIV The Trial of Laura for Murder
CHAPTER LV The Trial Continued—Evidence of Harry Brierly
CHAPTER LVI The Trial Continued—Col Sellers on the Stand and Takes Advantage of the Situation
CHAPTER LVII The Momentous Day—Startling News—Dilworthy Denounced as a Briber and Defeated—The Bill Lost in the Senate
CHAPTER LVIII Verdict, Not Guilty !—Laura Free and Receives Propositions to Lecture—Philip back at the Mines
CHAPTER LIX The Investigation of the Dilworthy Bribery Case and Its Results
CHAPTER LX Laura Decides on her Course—Attempts to Lecture and Fails—Found Dead in her Chair
CHAPTER LXI Col Sellers and Washington Hawkins Review the Situation and Leave Washington
CHAPTER LXII Philip Discouraged—One More Effort—Finds Coal at Last
CHAPTER LXIII Philip Leaves Ilium to see Ruth—Ruth Convalescent—Alice
APPENDIX