Produced by Juliet Sutherland Charles Franksand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamTRY AND TRUSTOr Abner Holdens Bound BoyBYHORATIO ALGER JRAUTHOR OF PAUL THE PEDDLER FROM FARM BOY TOSENATOR SLOW AND SURE ETCTHE MERSHON COMPANYRAHWAY NJ          NEW YORKTO MY YOUNG FRIENDA FLORIAN HENRIQUESBOISIETHIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATEDCONTENTSI     AROUND THE BREAKFAST TABLEII    INTRODUCING THE HEROIII   A COLLISIONIV    A DISAGREEABLE SURPRISEV     THE ENVELOPEVI    ON THE WAYVII   A NEW HOMEVIII  THE GHOST IN THE ATTICIX    EXPOSING A FRAUDX     THE CLOUDS GATHERXI    A CRISISXII   RALPH THE RANGERXIII  A MOMENT OF PERILXIV   TAKEN PRISONERXV    A FOURFOOTED FOEXVI   JUST TOO LATEXVII  NEW ACQUAINTANCESXVIII A YOUNG ARISTOCRATXIX   A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERXX    FACING A BURGLARXXI   HERBERTS REWARDXXII  ROBBED IN THE NIGHTXXIII A BUSINESS CALLXXIV  FINDING A BOARDING PLACEXXV   GETTING A SITUATIONXXVI  A FAMILY COUNCILXXVII AT THE CONCERTXXVIII PETER GREENLEAF AGAINXXIX  SPARRINGXXX   AN UNEXPECTED BLOWXXXI  MR STANTON IS SURPRISEDXXXII RISEN FROM THE DEADXXXIII A FRIEND IN NEEDXXXIV CONCLUSIONCHAPTER IAROUND THE BREAKFAST TABLEWell wife said Mr Benjamin Stanton as he sat down to a latebreakfast I had a letter from Ohio yesterdayFrom Ohio Who should write you from Ohio Anyone I knowMy sister Margaret you remember moved out there with her husband tenyears agoOh its from her is it said Mrs Stanton indifferentlyNo said her husband with momentary gravity Its from a Dr Kentwho attended her in her last illness Margaret is deadDear me returned Mrs Stanton uncomfortably and I am just out ofmourning for my aunt Do you think it will be necessary for us to gointo mourning for your sisterNo I think not said her husband Margaret has lived away from us solong and people wont know that we have had a death in the familyunless we mention itWas that all the letter saidabout the death I meanWhy no said Mr Stanton with a little frown It seems Margaretleft a childa boy of fourteen and as she left no property thedoctor suggests that I should send for the boy and assume the care ofhimUpon my word said Mrs Stanton you will find yourself in businessif you undertake to provide for all the beggars brats that apply to youfor assistanceYou must remember that you are speaking of my sisters child said MrStanton who cold and selfish and worldly as he was had some touch ofdecency about him and did not relish the term beggars brats asapplied to one so nearly related to himWell call him what you like said his wife only dont be so foolishas to go spending your money on him when our children need all we haveTheres Maria needs a new dress immediately She says all the girls atSignor Madalinis dancing academy dress elegantly and shes positivelyashamed to appear in any of her present dressesHow much will it cost asked Mr Stanton opening his pocketbookYou may hand me seventyfive dollars I think I can make that doWithout a word of remonstrance the money was placed in her handI want some money too said Tom Stanton who had just disposed of avery hearty mealWhat do you want it for TomOh some of the fellows are getting up a club Its going to be aselect affair and of course each of us has got to contribute somemoney You see we are going to hire a room furnish it nicely with acarpet black walnut furniture and so on and thatll cost somethingWhose idea is itWell Sam Paget was the first boy that mentioned itWhose son is heHis father belongs to the firm of Paget Norwood  Co Hes awfulrichYes it is one of our first families said Mr Stanton withsatisfaction Is he a friend of yours TomOh yes we are quit intimateThats right said his father approvingly I am glad you choose yourfriends so well Thats one of the principal reasons I have for sendingyou to an expensive school to get you well launched into good societyYes father I understand said Tom You wont find me associatingwith common boys I hold my head a little too high for that I can tellyouThats right my boy said Mr Stanton with satisfaction And nowhow much money do you want for this club of yoursWell said Tom hesitatingly thirty or forty dollarsIsnt that considerable said his father surprised at the amountWell you see father I want to contribute as much as any of the boysIt would seem mean if I didnt Theres only a few of us to stand theexpense and we dont want to let in any out of our own setThats true said Mr Stanton I approve of that Its all very wellto talk about democracy but I believe in those of the higher orderskeeping by themselvesThen youll give the money father said Tom eagerlyYes Tom theres forty dollars Its more than I ought to spare but Iam determined you shall stand as good a chance as any of your schoolfellows They shant be able to say that your father stints you inanything that your position requiresThank you father said Tom pocketing the two twentydollar billswith great satisfactionThe fact was that Toms assessment amounted to only twenty dollars buthe thought it would be a good excuse for getting more out of his fatherAs to the extra money Tom felt confident that he could find uses enoughfor it He had latterly though but fourteen years of age contractedthe habit of smoking cigars a habit which he found rather expensiveespecially as he felt bound occasionally to treat his companions Thenhe liked now and then to drop in and get an icecream or someconfectionery and these little expenses counted upMr Stanton was a vain worldly man He was anxious to obtain anentrance into the best society For this