In the Days of Poor Richard

In the Days of Poor Richard

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Title: In the Days of Poor Richard
Author: Irving Bacheller
Release Date: April 12, 2005 [eBook #15608]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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IN THE DAYS OF POOR RICHARD
by
IRVING BACHELLER
Author of The Light in The Clearing, A Man for the Ages, etc.
Illustrated by John Wolcott Adams
Indianapolis The Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers Press Of Braunworth & Co Book Manufacturers Brooklyn, N. Y.
1922

[Frontispiece: A young John Irons and Margaret Hare in the forest.]

TO MY FRIEND
ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE
Discerning Student and Interpreter of the Spirit of the Prophets, the Struggle of the Heroes and the Wisdom of the Founders of Democracy, I Dedicate This Volume.

FOREWORD
Much of the color of the love-tale of Jack and Margaret, which is a part of the greater love-story of man and liberty, is derived from old letters, diaries, and newspaper clippings in the possession of a well-known American family.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
BOOK ONE
I The Horse Valley Adventure II Sowing the Dragon's Teeth III The Journey to Philadelphia IV The Crossing V Jack Sees London and the Great Philosopher VI The Lovers VII The Dawn VIII An Appointment and a Challenge IX The Encounter X The Lady of the Hidden Face XI The Departure XII The Friend and the Girl He Left Behind Him
BOOK TWO
XIII The Ferment XIV Adventures in the Service of the Commander-in-Chief XV In Boston Jail XVI Jack and Solomon Meet the Great Ally XVII With the Army and in the Bush XVIII How Solomon Shifted the Skeer XIX The Voice of a Woman Sobbing XX The First Fourth of July XXI The Ambush XXII The Binkussing of Colonel Burley XXIII The Greatest Trait of a Great Commander
BOOK THREE
XXIV In France with Franklin XXV The Pageant XXVI In Which Appears the Horse of Destiny and the Judas of Washington's Army XXVII Which Contains the Adventures of Solomon in the Timber Sack and on the "Hand-made River" XXVIII In Which Arnold and Henry Thornhill Arrive in the Highlands XXIX Love and Treason XXX "Who Is She that Looketh Forth as the Morning, Fair as the Moon, Clear as the Sun, and Terrible as an Army with Banners?" XXXI The Lovers and Solomon's Last Fight

BOOK ONE

CHAPTER I
THE HORSE VALLEY ADVENTURE
"The first time I saw the boy, Jack Irons, he was about nine years old. I was in Sir William Johnson's camp of magnificent Mohawk warriors at Albany. Jack was so active and successful in the games, between the red boys and the white, that the Indians called him 'Boiling Water.' His laugh and tireless spirit reminded me of a mountain brook. There was no lad, near his age, who could run so fast, or jump so far, or shoot so well with the bow or the rifle. I carried him on my back to his home, he urging me on as if I had been a battle horse and when we were come to the house, he ran about doing his chores. I helped him, and, our work accomplished, we went down to the river for a swim, and to my surprise, I found him a well taught fish. We became friends and always when I have thought of him, the words Happy Face have come to me. It was, I think, a better nickname than 'Boiling Water,' although there was much propriety in the latter. I knew that his energy given to labor would accomplish much and when I left him, I repeated the words which my father had often quoted in my hearing:
"'Seest thou a man diligent in his calling? He shall stand before kings.'"
This glimpse of John Irons, Jr.--familiarly known as Jack Irons--is from a letter of Benjamin Franklin to his wife.
Nothing further is recorded of his boyhood until, about eight years later, what was known as the "Horse Valley Adventure" occurred. A full account of it follows with due regard for background and color:
"It was the season o' the great moon," said old Solomon Binkus, scout and interpreter, as he leaned over the camp-fire and flicked a coal out of the ashes with his forefinger and twiddled it up to his pipe bowl. In the army he was known as "old Solomon Binkus," not by reason of his age, for he was only about thirty-eight, but as a mark of deference. Those who followed him in the