The Captains Toll-Gate

The Captain's Toll-Gate

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Captain's Toll-Gate, by Frank R.
Stockton This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and
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Title: The Captain's Toll-Gate
Author: Frank R. Stockton
Release Date: September 2, 2004 [EBook #13356]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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CAPTAIN'S TOLL-GATE ***

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THE CAPTAIN'S TOLL-GATE
By
FRANK R. STOCKTON
_With a Memorial Sketch by Mrs. Stockton_
1903

CONTENTS
I. OLIVE II. MARIA PORT III. MRS. EASTERFIELD IV. THE SON
OF AN OLD SHIPMATE V. OLIVE PAYS TOLL VI. MR. CLAUDE
LOCKER VII. THE CAPTAIN AND HIS GUEST GO FISHING AND

COME HOME HAPPY VIII. CAPTAIN ASHER IS NOT IN A
GOOD HUMOR IX. MISS PORT TAKES A DRIVE WITH THE
BUTCHER X. MRS. EASTERFIELD WRITES A LETTER XI. MR.
LOCKER IS RELEASED ON BAIL XII. MR. RUPERT HEMPHILL
XIII. MR. LANCASTER'S BACKERS XIV. A LETTER FOR OLIVE
XV. OLIVE'S BICYCLE TRIP XVI. MR. LANCASTER ACCEPTS A
MISSION XVII. DICK IS NOT A PROMPT BEARER OF NEWS
XVIII. WHAT OLIVE DETERMINED TO DO XIX. THE CAPTAIN
AND DICK LANCASTER DESERT THE TOLL-GATE XX. MR.
LOCKER DETERMINES TO RUSH THE ENEMY'S POSITION XXI.
MISS RALEIGH ENJOYS A RARE PRIVILEGE XXII. THE
CONFLICTING SERENADES XXIII. THE CAPTAIN AND MARIA
XXIV. MR. TOM ARRIVES AT BROADSTONE XXV. THE
CAPTAIN AND MR. TOM XXVI. A STOP AT THE TOLL-GATE
XXVII. BY PROXY XXVIII. HERE WE GO! LOVERS THREE!
XXIX. TWO PIECES OF NEWS XXX. BY THE SEA XXXI. AS
GOOD AS A MAN XXXII. THE STOCK-MARKET IS SAFE
XXXIII. DICK LANCASTER DOES NOT WRITE XXXIV. MISS
PORT PUTS IN AN APPEARANCE XXXV. THE DORCAS ON
GUARD XXXVI. COLD TINDER XXXVII. IN WHICH SOME
GREAT CHANGES ARE RECORDED XXXVIII. "IT HAS JUST
BEGUN!"

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Portrait of Prank B. Stockton _Etching by Jacques Reich from a
photograph._
The Holt, Mr. Stockton's home near Convent, N.J.
Claymont, Mr. Stockton's home near Charles Town, West Virginia.
A corner in Mr. Stockton's study at Claymont.
The upper terraces of Mr. Stockton's garden at Claymont.

A MEMORIAL SKETCH
As this--The Captain's Toll-Gate--is the last of the works of Frank R.
Stockton that will be given to the public, it is fitting that it be
accompanied by some account of the man whose bright spirit illumined
them all. It is proper, also, that something be said of the stories

themselves; of the circumstances in which they were written, the
influences that determined their direction, and the history of their
evolution. It seems appropriate that this should be done by the one who
knew him best; the one who lived with him through a long and
beautiful life; the one who walked hand in hand with him along the
whole of a wonderful road of ever-changing scenes: now through
forests peopled with fairies and dryads, griffins and wizards; now
skirting the edges of an ocean with its strange monsters and remarkable
shipwrecks; now on the beaten track of European tourists, sharing their
novel adventures and amused by their mistakes; now resting in lovely
gardens imbued with human interest; now helping the young to make
happy homes for themselves; now sympathizing with the old as they
look longingly toward a heavenly home; and, oftenest, perhaps,
watching girls and young men as they were trying to work out the
problems of their lives. All this, and much more, crowded the busy
years until the Angel of Death stood in the path; and the journey was
ended.
In regard to the present story--The Captain's Toll-Gate--although it is
now after his death first published, it was all written and completed by
Mr. Stockton himself. No other hand has been allowed to add to, or to
take from it. Mr. Stockton had so strong a feeling upon the literary
ethics involved in such matters that he once refused to complete a book
which a popular and brilliant author, whose style was thought to
resemble his own, had left unfinished. Mr. Stockton regarded the
proposed act in the light of a sacrilege. The book, he said, should be
published as the author left it. Knowing this fact, readers of the present
volume may feel assured that no one has been permitted to tamper with
it. Although the last book by Mr. Stockton to be published, it is not the
last that he wrote. He had completed The Captain's Toll-Gate, and was
considering its publication, when he was asked to write another novel
dealing with the buccaneers. He had already produced a book entitled
Buccaneers