{"product_id":"2940013652705","title":"STRUGGLING UPWARD","description":"CHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE WATERBURY WATCH\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne Saturday afternoon in January a lively and animated\u003cbr\u003egroup of boys were gathered on the western side of a large pond\u003cbr\u003ein the village of Groveton. Prominent among them was a tall,\u003cbr\u003epleasant-looking young man of twenty-two, the teacher of the\u003cbr\u003eCenter Grammar School, Frederic Hooper, A. B., a recent graduate\u003cbr\u003eof Yale College. Evidently there was something of importance\u003cbr\u003eon foot. What it was may be learned from the words of the teacher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Now, boys,\" he said, holding in his hand a Waterbury watch, of\u003cbr\u003eneat pattern, \"I offer this watch as a prize to the boy who will\u003cbr\u003eskate across the pond and back in the least time. You will all\u003cbr\u003estart together, at a given signal, and make your way to the mark\u003cbr\u003ewhich I have placed at the western end of the lake, skate around\u003cbr\u003eit, and return to this point. Do you fully understand?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, sir!\" exclaimed the boys, unanimously.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore proceeding, it may be well to refer more particularly\u003cbr\u003eto some of the boys who were to engage in the contest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst, in his own estimation, came Randolph Duncan, son of Prince\u003cbr\u003eDuncan, president of the Groveton Bank, and a prominent town\u003cbr\u003eofficial. Prince Duncan was supposed to be a rich man, and lived in\u003cbr\u003ea style quite beyond that of his neighbors. Randolph was his only\u003cbr\u003eson, a boy of sixteen, and felt that in social position and blue\u003cbr\u003eblood he was without a peer in the village. He was a tall, athletic\u003cbr\u003eboy, and disposed to act the part of boss among the Groveton boys.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNext came a boy similar in age and physical strength, but in other\u003cbr\u003erespects very different from the young aristocrat. This was Luke\u003cbr\u003eLarkin, the son of a carpenter's widow, living on narrow means, and\u003cbr\u003eso compelled to exercise the strictest economy. Luke worked where\u003cbr\u003ehe could, helping the farmers in hay-time, and ready to do odd jobs\u003cbr\u003efor any one in the village who desired his services. He filled the\u003cbr\u003eposition of janitor at the school which he attended, sweeping out\u003cbr\u003etwice a week and making the fires. He had a pleasant expression,\u003cbr\u003eand a bright, resolute look, a warm heart, and a clear intellect,\u003cbr\u003eand was probably, in spite of his poverty, the most popular boy in\u003cbr\u003eGroveton. In this respect he was the opposite of Randolph Duncan,\u003cbr\u003ewhose assumption of superiority and desire to \"boss\" the other boys\u003cbr\u003eprevented him from having any real friends. He had two or three\u003cbr\u003ecompanions, who flattered him and submitted to his caprices because\u003cbr\u003ethey thought it looked well to be on good terms with the young\u003cbr\u003earistocrat.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152609132784,"sku":"2940013652705","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013652705_p0.jpg?v=1763583896","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013652705","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}