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FROM FARM TO FORTUNE
_Or, Nat Nason's Strange Experience_
BY HORATIO ALGER, JR.
AUTHOR OF "LOST AT SEA," "NELSON THE NEWSBOY," "OUT FOR BUSINESS," "THE
YOUNG BOOK AGENT," "RAGGED DICK SERIES," ETC.
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK
Copyright, 1905
BY STITT PUBLISHING COMPANY
[Illustration: HE FELT SOMEBODY CATCH HIM BY THE ARM, AND TURNING HE
BEHELD NAT.]
CONTENTS
PREFACE
I. NAT ON THE FARM
II. A QUARREL IN THE BARNYARD
III. NAT LEAVES THE FARM
IV. ABNER BALBERRY'S DISCOVERY
V. THE SALE OF A COW
VI. NAT ON LAKE ERIE
VII. AN ADVENTURE AT NIAGARA FALLS
VIII. A FRESH START IN LIFE
IX. FIRST DAYS IN NEW YORK
X. OUT OF WORK ONCE MORE
XI. WHAT A HUNDRED DOLLARS DID
XII. ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
XIII. A SWINDLE EXPOSED
XIV. NAT OBTAINS ANOTHER SITUATION
XV. ABNER AND THE WIDOW GUFF
XVI. ABNER VISITS NEW YORK
XVII. A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
XVIII. NAT MEETS HIS UNCLE
XIX. NAT BECOMES A PRIVATE CLERK
XX. RUFUS CAMERON'S BOLD MOVE
XXI. A MISSING DOCUMENT OF VALUE
XXII. AT THE ELEVATED STATION
XXIII. TOM NOLAN'S CONFESSION
XXIV. THE PAPERS IN THE TRUNK
XXV. BACK TO THE CITY
XXVI. FRED GIVES UP CITY LIFE
XXVII. A SCENE AT THE HOTEL
XXVIII. A SUDDEN PROPOSAL
XXIX. THE CAPTURE OF NICK SMITHERS
XXX. NAT COMES INTO HIS OWN
PREFACE
Nat Nason was a poor country boy with a strong desire to better his
condition. Life on the farm was unusually hard for him, and after a
quarrel with his miserly uncle, with whom he resided, he resolved to
strike out for himself.
Nat was poor and it was a struggle to reach the great city, where the
youth trusted that fame and fortune awaited him.
The boy obtained, by accident, a fair sum of money and with this he
resolved to go into a business of some kind. But a sharper quickly
relieved him of his wealth, and opened Nat's eyes to the fact that he
was not as shrewd as he had thought himself to be.
The lesson proved a valuable one, and from that moment the country boy
did his best to not alone win success but to deserve it. He worked hard,
often in the midst of great difficulties, and what the outcome of his
struggle was, will be found in the pages which follow.
In penning this tale the author has endeavored to show the difference
between life in a quiet country place and in a great bustling city, and
especially as that difference shows itself to the eyes of a country boy.
Many country lads imagine that to go to the city and win success there
is easy; perhaps they will not think it so easy after they have read of
what happened to Nat Nason. More than once, in spite of his grit and
courage, Nat came close to making a complete failure of what he had
started out to do, and his success in the end was perhaps after all not
as great as he had anticipated when first striking out.
FROM FARM TO FORTUNE
CHAPTER I
NAT ON THE FARM
"Nat, where have you been?"
"Been fishing," answered the boy addressed, a sturdy youth of sixteen,
with clear blue eyes and sandy hair.
"Fishin'? And who said you could go fishin'?" demanded Abner Balberry,
in his high, nervous voice.
"Nobody said I could go," answered the boy, firmly. "But I thought you'd
all like to have some fish for supper, so I went."
"Humph! I suppose you thought as how them taters would hoe themselves,
eh?" sneered Abner Balberry, who was not only Nat's uncle, but also his
guardian.
"I hoed the potatoes," was the boy's answer. "Got through at half-past
two o'clock."
"If you got through so soon you didn't half do the job," grumbled the
man. "I ain't goin' to have you wastin' your time on no fishin',
understand?"
"Can't I go fishing at all?"
"Not when there is work to do on this farm."
"But I did my work, Uncle Abner."
"An' I say it couldn't have been done right if ye didn't take proper
time fer it, Nat Nason! I know you! You are gittin' lazy!"
"I'm not lazy!" cried the boy, indignantly. "I work as hard as anybody
around here."
"Don't you talk back to me!" ejaculated Abner Balberry. "I say you are
lazy, an' I know. How many fish did ye catch?"
"I only got two. They didn't bite very well to-day."
"Humph! A-wastin' three hours an' more jest to catch two little fish! If
I let you go your own way, Nat Nason, you'll be in the poorhouse before
you die."
"I don't think I'll ever get to the poorhouse, Uncle Abner."
"Oh, don't talk back! Take your fish to the kitchen an' then git down to
the barnyard as quick as you can. You've got to help me milk to-night.
An' don't you dare to go fishin' ag'in, unless I give ye permission,"
added Abner Balberry, as he strode off towards the barn.
A sharp answer arose to Nat Nason's lips, but he checked it and turned
toward the kitchen of the farmhouse.
"What luck did you have, Nat?" questioned the did woman who was Abner
Balberry's housekeeper.
"Not much luck, Mrs. Felton. They didn't bite very well to-day."
"What was Mr. Balberry saying to you?" went on Mrs. Felton, who had been
housekeeper at the place since the death of Mrs. Balberry, two years
before.
"He was mad because I went fishing."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Uncle Abner never wants me to have any sport."
"He's a hard-working man, and always was, Nat. He doesn't believe in
wasting time."
"But a fellow ought to have a little time off."
"That may be true."
"Don't you think I work pretty hard for a boy of my age?"
"I do, Nat."
"Uncle Abner wants to make a regular slave out of a fellow."
"Didn't he say you were to help him milk to-night?"
"Yes, and I might as well get at it right away. If I don't, he'll give
me another jawing," answered the boy, and placing his fish on a bench,
he strode off toward the barnyard.
Nat Nason was an orphan, the only child of Mr. William Nason, who had
been a brother to the late Mrs. Balberry. The boy's father had been
killed in a runaway and his mother had never gotten over the shock of
the sudden death.
When the youth found himself an orphan he was taken in by his Aunt Mary,
who did what she could for him. The Nasons had not been rich, so there
was little or no money coming to Nat. From the start he was told that he
must earn his own living, and this he proceeded to do to the best of his
ability.
The death of his Aunt Mary was almost as much of a blow to the lad as
the loss of his mother, for it left him under the entire charge of his
uncle, Abner Balberry. The latter had no children of his own and he made
Nat work as hard as if he were a full-grown man.
The Balberry farm was located in Ohio, not far from the town of Caswell.
It consisted of one hundred acres of good land, with a house and several
outbuildings. Among his neighbors Abner Balberry was considered the
meanest man in the district. Abner himself thought he was a pretty good
man and he counted himself a real "pillow" of the church, as he
expressed it.
For two years life on the Balberry farm had been one continual grind to
Nat Nason. He was expected to work from morning to night, and such a
thing as a whole day off was utterly unknown to him. He received next to
nothing in the way of spending money.
"I'll save the money fer ye," Abner Balberry would say, when questioned
on the subject. "'Tain't good fer boys to have too much cash on hand. It
makes 'em reckless."
"But you never give me anything," had been Nat's answer.
"Never mind--I'm a-givin' you a good home an' good eatin'," was the
answer.
The good home and good fare were something to be questioned. Nat's room
was a small one under the roof, his clothing usually made over from the
garments worn by Mr. Balberry, and such a thing as an elaborate table
was unknown on the farm. Many times Mrs. Felton had wished to cook more,
or make some fancy dishes, but Abner Balberry had always stopped her
from doing such a thing.
"Plain fare is good enough," he would say. "An' if ye eat too much it
only brings on the dyspepsy." More than once Nat went to bed feeling
positively hungry.
When Nat reached the barnyard he found his uncle already there with the
milk pails and milking an old white cow called Sukey.
"Go on down the lane and drive up Jule," cried Abner Balberry, without
stopping his milking. "She just went down that way."
"All right," answered Nat, and passing through the barnyard he hurried
down the lane mentioned.
Jule was a new cow that the farmer had purchased a week before. She did
not seem inclined to herd with the other animals and Nat had had quite a
good deal of trouble with her before.
At the end of the lane was an orchard and here he found the cow,
contentedly eating the fresh grass. She tried to get away from him, but
he was too quick for the creature and soon had her turned around and
headed up the lane. Then he stopped to get an apple, for his fishing
trip had made him hungry and he knew that supper was still a good hour
off.
"I wish I had some other kind of a job," he murmured, with a sigh.
"Somehow, farming doesn't seem to be just the right thing for me. Wish I
was in some big city."
"Hurry up with that cow!" cried Abner Balberry. "Do you think I'm going
to stop here all night fer milkin'?"
"I'm coming!" sang out Nat. "Get along, Jule, you old slow poke!"
He gave the cow a slap on the side, and away she flew up the lane. The
boy followed, finishing the apple as he went.
As it happened several cows were bunched up near the entrance to the
lane and as the new cow appeared, driven by Nat, the bunch scattered.
Then Jule ran directly into the barnyard.
"Hi! hi! stop!" yelled Abner Balberry. "Drat the beast! Stop!"
But the new cow did not stop, and a moment later she stepped into a
pailful of milk, and tipped it over. Then she ran against another cow
that the farmer was milking. This cow swerved around, and in a twinkling
Abner Balberry was thrown on his back and the milk was sent flying over
him.