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FROM FARM TO FORTUNE
_Or, Nat Nason's Strange Experience_
BY HORATIO ALGER, JR.
AUTHOR OF "LOST AT SEA," "NELSON THE NEWSBOY," "OUT FOR BUSINESS," "THEYOUNG BOOK AGENT," "RAGGED DICK SERIES," ETC.
GROSSET & DUNLAPPUBLISHERS : NEW YORKCopyright, 1905
BY STITT PUBLISHING COMPANY
HE FELT SOMEBODY CATCH HIM BY THE ARM, AND TURNING HEBEHELD NAT.]
CONTENTS
PREFACE
I. NAT ON THE FARM
II. A QUARREL IN THE BARNYARD
III. NAT LEAVES THE FARM
IV. ABNER BALBERRY'S DISCOVERY
V. THE SALE OF A COW
VI. NAT ON LAKE ERIE
VII. AN ADVENTURE AT NIAGARA FALLS
VIII. A FRESH START IN LIFE
IX. FIRST DAYS IN NEW YORK
X. OUT OF WORK ONCE MORE
XI. WHAT A HUNDRED DOLLARS DID
XII. ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
XIII. A SWINDLE EXPOSED
XIV. NAT OBTAINS ANOTHER SITUATION
XV. ABNER AND THE WIDOW GUFF
XVI. ABNER VISITS NEW YORK
XVII. A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
XVIII. NAT MEETS HIS UNCLE
XIX. NAT BECOMES A PRIVATE CLERK
XX. RUFUS CAMERON'S BOLD MOVE
XXI. A MISSING DOCUMENT OF VALUE
XXII. AT THE ELEVATED STATION
XXIII. TOM NOLAN'S CONFESSION
XXIV. THE PAPERS IN THE TRUNK
XXV. BACK TO THE CITY
XXVI. FRED GIVES UP CITY LIFE
XXVII. A SCENE AT THE HOTEL
XXVIII. A SUDDEN PROPOSAL
XXIX. THE CAPTURE OF NICK SMITHERS
XXX. NAT COMES INTO HIS OWN
PREFACE
Nat Nason was a poor country boy with a strong desire to better hiscondition. Life on the farm was unusually hard for him, and after aquarrel with his miserly uncle, with whom he resided, he resolved tostrike out for himself.
Nat was poor and it was a struggle to reach the great city, where theyouth trusted that fame and fortune awaited him.
The boy obtained, by accident, a fair sum of money and with this heresolved to go into a business of some kind. But a sharper quicklyrelieved him of his wealth, and opened Nat's eyes to the fact that hewas not as shrewd as he had thought himself to be.
The lesson proved a valuable one, and from that moment the country boydid his best to not alone win success but to deserve it. He worked hard,often in the midst of great difficulties, and what the outcome of hisstruggle was, will be found in the pages which follow.
In penning this tale the author has endeavored to show the differencebetween life in a quiet country place and in a great bustling city, andespecially as that difference shows itself to the eyes of a country boy.Many country lads imagine that to go to the city and win success thereis easy; perhaps they will not think it so easy after they have read ofwhat happened to Nat Nason. More than once, in spite of his grit andcourage, Nat came close to making a complete failure of what he hadstarted out to do, and his success in the end was perhaps after all notas great as he had anticipated when first striking out.
FROM FARM TO FORTUNE