Late one afternoon when the sunlight was slanting through the trees and wavering upon the adobe walls of the Pueblo of Los Angeles, when the only sounds were the whispering winds in the higher boughs, and the thrumming of a stringed instrument from the soldiers’ quarters, a tall Spanish mule came clattering into the village with two boys astride its back. They were bronzed, sinewy looking youngsters; each held a long barreled rifle. A barefooted sentry, his piece over his shoulder, looked ...

“The wind’s changing again, Cole,” said Tom Deering, as he threw his rudder handle to leeward in order that the sheet might catch the full benefit of the breeze. The person to whom he spoke was a negro, young in years but of colossal size; as he sat amidships in the skiff, with the sheet rope in his hand, his sleeveless shirt showing his mighty arms bare to the shoulder, he resembled a statue of Hercules, cut out of black marble. Tom Deering was about sixteen, and the son of a rich planter...

The towering stacks of the steamboat “Mediterranean” sent their clouds of smoke, black and wind rent, across the sky; her sharp bow cut the yellow waters of the Mississippi and dashed the spray as high as her rails. The cabins were thronged with passengers; the forward deck was tiered high with bales and barrels and boxes of merchandise. Two boys sat by the rail upon the upper deck; their faces were earnest and they talked in low tones. “Are you quite sure that Sam Davidge is on board, Wal...

“Do you know what to-morrow will be, Ben Cooper?” The speaker was a dwarfish looking lad whose big head and upstanding crest of hair gave him a most curious appearance. “To-morrow,” replied the second boy, promptly, “will be New Year’s day.” The dwarf shifted his leather belt so that his huge service pistol might hang more comfortably; and his voice, when he spoke again, contained a note of complaint. “It will be that, to be sure; but it will also be just one week since Washington crossed ...

“The Young Continentals” series deals with the experiences of four boys in the American Revolution. One of them, Nat Brewster, is from the hills about Wyoming, Ben Cooper is from Philadelphia, while the Prentiss twin brothers come from Boston. In the first book of the series, “The Young Continentals at Lexington,” Nat Brewster played the leading part—a part full of daring and enterprise. In the second book, “The Young Continentals at Bunker Hill,” Ezra Prentiss replaced Nat as the principa...

ASHTON-KIRK is a young man of means and position. The unusual has a sort of fascination for him; his subtle perception, and keen, direct habit of mind cause him to delight in the investigation of those crimes which have proved too shadowy for the police. In “Ashton-Kirk, Investigator,” another book dealing with his experiences, he was concerned with the strange case of the murder of the numismatist, Hume. In “Secret Agent,” he was involved in a crisis between two nations; and a great war w...

“Who is that man that is so much at the Wheelocks’ just now?”asked young Walter Stanton of his friend Philip Morgan. “Some Tory friend, I suppose. I don’t like him; see the sneer upon his face as he looks at the members upon the steps of the State House.” It was about noon on a day late in September in the year 1777. A group of young men and boys were lounging upon some benches in the shade of two big buttonwoods directly across from the quaint old State House at Philadelphia. The sun hung...

Along the trail which wound along the banks of the Yadkin, in North Carolina, rode a tall, sinewy man; he had a bronzed, resolute face, wore the hunting shirt, leggins and moccasins of the backwoods, and had hanging from one shoulder a long flint-locked rifle. A small buck, which this unerring weapon of the hunter had lately brought down, lay across his saddle bow. Away along the trail, at a place where the river bent sharply, a cloud of dust arose in the trail; and as the hunter rode forw...

The tall bay horse and the little roan mare went at a hard gallop down the long, gentle descent of a hill. Both were flecked with foam, for the going was hard, despite the brisk April weather. “How is the mare taking it?” asked Ezra Prentiss, after a time, drawing in the bay and patting his arched neck encouragingly. The roan snorted and shook her head as though trying to answer for herself. “It’s rather hard on her, I’m afraid,” returned Ben Cooper. “But she’s good for a great deal more o...

The smart little roan mare drew up at the gate of the Cooper place, and Ben Cooper leaned over and lifted the latch with the loop of his riding-whip. The gate was still creaking open when the lad noticed old Stephen Comegies stumping along the road on his gouty legs, and leaning heavily upon a stout oaken staff. “Good-morning, Mr. Comegies,” saluted Ben, cheerily. But old Stephen seemed not to hear; his eyes were fixed upon the road, and his lips were muttering; from the way his gnarled ha...

“Much good place for camp! Heap fine water!” It was a young Cherokee brave who spoke; from the back of his wiry little sorrel horse he pointed ahead to a small stream which could be seen winding its way among the trees. “Yes; it looks as if it had been made for a camp, Running Elk,” replied a bronzed athletic white boy. “What do you say, Frank, shall we pitch the tent there to-night?” Frank Lawrence glanced toward the sun, which was already lowering toward the horizon. “We might as well, J...

Many kids and teens have challenges when it comes to behavior. In this revised edition of his time-tested book, Thomas McIntyre provides up-to-date information, practical strategies, and sound advice to help kids learn to make smarter choices, make and keep friends, get along with teachers, take responsibility for their actions, work toward positive change, and enjoy the results of their better behavior. New to this edition are an “Are you ready to change?” quiz, updated glossary and resou...