Produced by Juliet Sutherland Charles Franksand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamHERBERT CARTERS LEGACYORTHE INVENTORS SONBYHORATIO ALGER JRAUTHOR OFStrong and Steady Strive and Succeed Try and Trust Bound ToRise EtcNEW YORKBIOGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHYHoratio Alger Jr an author who lived among and for boys and himselfremained a boy in heart and association till death was born atRevere Mass January 13 1834 He was the son of a clergyman wasgraduated at Harvard College in 1852 and at its Divinity School in1860 and was pastor of the Unitarian Church at Brewster Mass in186266In the latter year he settled in New York and began drawing publicattention to the condition and needs of street boys He mingled withthem gained their confidence showed a personal concern in theiraffairs and stimulated them to honest and useful living With hisfirst story he won the hearts of all redblooded boys everywhere andof the seventy or more that followed over a million copies were soldduring the authors lifetimeIn his later life he was in appearance a short stout baldheadedman with cordial manners and whimsical views of things that amusedall who met him He died at Natick Mass July 18 1899Mr Algers stories are as popular now as when first publishedbecause they treat of real live boys who were always up and aboutjust like the boys found everywhere today They are pure in tone andinspiring in influence and many reforms in the juvenile life of NewYork may be traced to them Among the best known areStrong and Steady Strive and Succeed Try and Trust Bound toRise Risen from the Ranks Herbert Carters Legacy Brave and BoldJacks Ward Shifting for Himself Wait and Hope Paul the PeddlerPhil the Fiddler Slow and Sure Julius the Street Boy Tom theBootblack Struggling Upward Facing the World The Cash Boy MakingHis Way Tony the Tramp Joes Luck Do and Dare Only an Irish BoySink or Swim A Cousins Conspiracy Andy Gordon Bob Burton HarryVane Hectors Inheritance Mark Masons Triumph Sams Chance TheTelegraph Boy The Young Adventurer The Young Outlaw The YoungSalesman and Luke WaltonIllustration It is practical I will pay one thousand dollars a yearfor ten years for a half interest in the inventionCHAPTER IMRS CARTER RECEIVES A LETTERIs that the latest style inquired James Leech with a sneerpointing to a patch on the knee of Herbert Carters pantsHerberts face flushed He was not ashamed of the patch for he knewthat his mothers poverty made it a necessity But he felt that it wasmean and dishonorable in James Leech whose father was one of the richmen of Wrayburn to taunt him with what he could not help Some boysmight have slunk away abashed but Herbert had pluck and stood hisgroundIt is my style he answered firmly looking James boldly in thefaceI admire your taste then returned James with a smooth sneerThen you had better imitate it retorted HerbertThank you said James in the same insulting tone Would you lendme your pants for a pattern Excuse me though perhaps you have noother pairFor shame James exclaimed one or two boys who had listened to thecolloquy stirred to indignation by this heartless insult on the partof James Leech to a boy who was deservedly a favorite with them allHerberts fist involuntarily doubled and James though he did notknow it ran a narrow chance of getting a good whipping But our younghero controlled himself not without some difficulty and said Ihave one other pair and these are at your service whenever yourequire themThen turning to the other boys he said in a changed tone Whos infor a game of ballI said one promptlyAnd I said anotherHerbert walked away accompanied by the other boys leaving JamesLeech aloneJames looked after him with a scowl He was sharp enough to see thatHerbert in spite of his patched pants was a better scholar and agreater favorite than himself He had intended to humiliate him on thepresent occasion but he was forced to acknowledge that he had comeoff second best from the encounter He walked moodily away and tookwhat comfort he could in the thought that he was far superior to a boywho owned but two pairs of pants and one of them patched He wasfoolish enough to feel that a boy or man derived importance from theextent of his wardrobe and exulted in the personal possession ofeight pairs of pantsThis scene occurred at recess After school was over Herbert walkedhome He was a little thoughtful There was no disgrace in a patch ashe was sensible enough to be aware Still he would have a littlepreferred not to wear one That was only natural In that point Isuppose my readers will fully agree with him But he knew very wellthat his mother who had been left a widow had hard work enough toget along as it was and he had no idea of troubling her on thesubject Besides he had a better suit for Sundays neat though plainand he felt that he ought not to be disturbed by James LeechsinsolenceSo thinking he neared the small house which he called home It was asmall cottage with something less than an acre of land attachedenough upon which to raise a few vegetables It belonged to hismother nominally but was mortgaged for half its value to SquireLeech the father of James The amount of the mortgage precisely wasseven hundred and fifty dollars It had cost his father fifteenhundred When he built it obtaining half this sum on mortgage hehoped to pay it up by degrees but it turned out that from sicknessand other causes this proved impossible When five months before hehad died suddenly the house which was all he left was subject tothis incumbrance Upon this interest was payable semiannually at therate of six per cent Fortyfive dollars a year is not a large sumbut it seemed very large to Mrs Carter when added to their necessaryexpenses for food clothing and fuel How it was to be paid she didnot exactly see The same problem had perplexed Herbert who like agood son as he was shared his