The Young Circus Rider; or, the Mystery of Robert Rudd

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.
Anak Astonishes the Farmer.
ATLANTIC SERIES.
BY HORATIO ALGER, Jr. PHILADELPHIA HENRY T. COATES & CO.
Copyright, 1883, by Porter & Coates.
As the Pacific Series, just completed, is devoted to stories of life and adventure on the Pacific coast, the Atlantic Series, of which the Young Circus Rider is the initial volume, will comprise stories located nearer home. The author will feel at liberty, however, should the exigencies of the plot require it, to change the scene temporarily to other parts of the continent.
The fascinations which the circus has always exercised over the minds of young people is so well known, that the author has felt justified in selecting the hero of the present story from that class of public performers who appeal so powerfully to the imagination of his young readers. In order to prepare himself for his task, he has made personal acquaintance with more than one hero of the ring, and has sought to furnish an inside view of the life which he describes. He hopes that the result may prove acceptable to the juvenile public in whose behalf he is always glad to labor.
Horatio Alger, Jr.
March 13, 1883.