[PREFACE.]
[CHAPTER I. NEW PLANS.]
[CHAPTER II. THE HOUSE IN WAVERLEY PLACE.]
[CHAPTER III. JAMES MARTIN'S VICISSITUDES.]
[CHAPTER IV. HOW JAMES MARTIN CAME TO GRIEF.]
[CHAPTER V. THE LAST EVENING IN FRANKLIN STREET.]
[CHAPTER VI. A NEW HOME.]
[CHAPTER VII. A NEW ENTERPRISE.]
[CHAPTER VIII. THE NEW BOARDING-HOUSE.]
[CHAPTER IX. AT THE END OF THREE MONTHS.]
[CHAPTER X. MR. MARTIN AGAIN APPEARS ON THE SCENE.]
[CHAPTER XI. MR. MARTIN'S WILD-GOOSE CHASE.]
[CHAPTER XII. MARTIN'S LUCK TURNS.]
[CHAPTER XIII. MARTIN MAKES A BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT.]
[CHAPTER XIV. HOW RUFUS SUCCEEDED IN BUSINESS.]
[CHAPTER XV. THE TIN BOX.]
[CHAPTER XVI. MR. VANDERPOOL.]
[CHAPTER XVII. DIVIDING THE SPOILS.]
[CHAPTER XVIII. RUFUS ENTRAPPED.]
[CHAPTER XIX. IN A TRAP.]
[CHAPTER XX. HUMPY.]
[CHAPTER XXI. SUSPENSE.]
[CHAPTER XXII. MARTIN GROWS SUSPICIOUS.]
[CHAPTER XXIII. ESCAPE.]
[CHAPTER XXIV. HOW RUFUS GOT BACK.]
[CHAPTER XXV. UNPLEASANT DISCOVERIES.]
[CHAPTER XXVI. CONCLUSION.]
[Famous Alger Books.]
[Famous Castlemon Books.]
[By C. A. Stephens.]
[By J. T. Trowbridge.]
[By Edward S. Ellis.]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
["I'll teach you to do it again."]
PREFACE.
In presenting to the public the last volume of the "Ragged Dick Series," the author desires to return his thanks for the generous reception accorded, both by the press and the public, to these stories of street life. Several of the characters are drawn from life, and nearly all of the incidents are of actual occurrence. Indeed, the materials have been found so abundant that invention has played but a subordinate part.
The principal object proposed, in the preparation of these volumes, has been to show that the large class of street boys—numbering thousands in New York alone—furnishes material out of which good citizens may be made, if the right influences are brought to bear upon them. In every case, therefore, the author has led his hero, step by step, from vagabondage to a position of respectability; and, in so doing, has incurred the charge, in some quarters, of exaggeration. It can easily be shown, however, that he has fallen short of the truth, rather than exceeded it. In proof, the following extract from an article in a New York daily paper is submitted:—
"As a class, the newsboys of New York are worthy of more than common attention. The requirements of the trade naturally tend to develop activity both of mind and body, and, in looking over some historical facts, we find that many of our most conspicuous public men have commenced their careers as newsboys. Many of the principal offices of our city government and our chief police courts testify to the truth of this assertion. From the West we learn that many of the most enterprising journalists spring from the same stock."