PREFACE

Many years ago the author of the present volume resolved to write a long series of books describing various phases of village and city life, taking up in their turn the struggles of the bootblacks, the newsboys, the young peddlers, the street musicians—the lives, in fact, of all those who, though young in years, have to face the bitter necessity of earning their own living.

In the present story are described the ups and downs of a boy book agent, who is forced, through the misfortunes of his father, to help provide for the family to which he belongs. He knows nothing of selling books, when he starts, but he acquires a valuable experience rapidly, and in the end gains a modest success which is well deserved.

It is the custom of many persons in ordinary life to sneer at a book agent and show him scant courtesy, forgetting that the agent’s business is a perfectly legitimate one and that he is therefore entitled to due respect so long as he does that which is proper and gentlemanly. A kind word costs nothing, and it often cheers up a heart which would otherwise be all but hopelessly depressed.

After reading this volume it may be thought by some that the hero, Frank Hardy, is above his class in tact, intelligence, and perseverance. This, however, is not true. A book agent, or, in fact, an agent of any kind, must possess all of these qualities in a marked degree, otherwise he will undoubtedly make a failure of the undertaking. As in every other calling, to win success one must first deserve it.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Frank at Home 1

II. Down at the Wreck 9

III. Disagreeable News 17

IV. The Hunt for a Missing Man 25

V. Frank at the Store 34

VI. The Rival Merchants 42

VII. A Fourth of July Celebration 50

VIII. Frank Looks for Work 58

IX. Frank Meets a Book Agent 67

X. Frank Goes to New York 76

XI. Frank as an Agent 86

XII. A Bright Beginning 96

XIII. Frank on the Road 108

XIV. A Boy Runaway 118

XV. Caught in a Storm 127

XVI. An Important Sale 136

XVII. A Curious Happening 145

XVIII. The Would-be Actor 153

XIX. Giving an Autograph 162

XX. Frank’s Remarkable Find 171

XXI. Gabe Flecker Shows His Hand 180

XXII. The Rival Book Agent 189

XXIII. News from Home 197

XXIV. Lost in a Coal Mine 205

XXV. Frank Meets Flecker Again 214

XXVI. An Escape 224

XXVII. At Home Once More 232

XXVIII. Frank Starts for the South 242

XXIX. A Scene on the Train 249

XXX. Frank Meets His Brother Mark 257

XXXI. A Clever Capture—Conclusion 264

THE YOUNG BOOK AGENT