PREFACE.
"Strong and Steady" is the third volume of the "Luck and Pluck Series." Though the story is quite distinct from its predecessors, it is intended to illustrate the same general principle. Walter Conrad, the hero, is unexpectedly reduced from affluence to poverty, and compelled to fight his own way in life. Undaunted by misfortune, he makes up his mind to "paddle his own canoe," and, declining the offers of friends, sets to work with a resolute will and persistent energy, which command success in the end.
Hoping that Walter's adventures may prove of interest to his young readers, and win the same favorable verdict which has been pronounced upon his previous books, the author takes his leave for the present, with many thanks for the generous welcome so often accorded to him.
October 15, 1871.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | THE ESSEX CLASSICAL INSTITUTE. | [9] |
| II. | IN THE CARS. | [18] |
| III. | AT HOME. | [28] |
| IV. | JACOB DRUMMOND, OF STAPLETON. | [33] |
| V. | JACOB DRUMMOND—CONTINUED. | [38] |
| VI. | FUTURE PLANS. | [48] |
| VII. | MR. DRUMMOND'S HUMBLE ROOF. | [58] |
| VIII. | WALTER MAKES A REVELATION. | [68] |
| IX. | HOW MR. DRUMMOND TOOK THE NEWS. | [78] |
| X. | MR. DRUMMOND'S STORE. | [88] |
| XI. | JOSHUA STIRS UP THE WRONG CUSTOMER. | [98] |
| XII. | AFTER THE BATTLE. | [108] |
| XIII. | THE ARROW AND THE PIONEER. | [117] |
| XIV. | A BRILLIANT SCHEME. | [127] |
| XV. | WAYS AND MEANS. | [137] |
| XVI. | JOSHUA TRIES KEEPING STORE. | [146] |
| XVII. | JOSHUA'S DISAPPOINTMENT. | [155] |
| XVIII. | WALTER FINDS HIMSELF IN HOT WATER. | [165] |
| XIX. | THE TABLES ARE TURNED. | [175] |
| XX. | IN WHICH JOSHUA COMES TO GRIEF. | [185] |
| XXI. | A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. | [195] |
| XXII. | MESSRS. FLINT AND PUSHER. | [206] |
| XXIII. | WALTER LOSES HIS MONEY. | [216] |
| XXIV. | SLIPPERY DICK. | [226] |
| XXV. | A HARD CUSTOMER. | [236] |
| XXVI. | BUSINESS EXPERIENCES. | [246] |
| XXVII. | A CABIN IN THE WOODS. | [256] |
| XXVIII. | STRANGE ACQUAINTANCES. | [266] |
| XXIX. | DANGER THREATENS. | [276] |
| XXX. | THE ROBBER WALKS INTO A TRAP. | [286] |
| XXXI. | WALTER'S ESCAPE. | [296] |
| XXXII. | A STRANGE HIDING-PLACE. | [306] |
| XXXIII. | WALTER SHOWS STRATEGY. | [317] |
| XXXIV. | DELIVERANCE. | [326] |
| XXXV. | THE LAST OF JACK MANGUM. | [335] |
| XXXVI. | JOSHUA BIDS GOOD-BY TO STAPLETON. | [345] |
| XXXVII. | CONCLUSION. | [355] |