{"product_id":"2940014465014","title":"Do and Dare - a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune","description":"CHAPTER I. THE POST OFFICE AT WAYNEBORO.\u003cbr\u003e\"If we could only keep the post office, mother, we should be all\u003cbr\u003eright,\"\u003cbr\u003esaid Herbert Carr, as he and his mother sat together in the little\u003cbr\u003esitting room of the plain cottage which the two had occupied ever\u003cbr\u003esince\u003cbr\u003ehe was a boy of five.\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, Herbert, but I am afraid there won't be much chance of it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Who would want to take it from you, mother?\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Men are selfish, Herbert, and there is no office, however small, that\u003cbr\u003eis not sought after.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"What was the income last year?\" inquired Herbert.\u003cbr\u003eMrs. Carr referred to a blank book lying on the table in which the\u003cbr\u003epost-office accounts were kept, and answered:\u003cbr\u003e\"Three hundred and ninety-eight dollars and fifty cents.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"I shouldn't think that would be much of an inducement to an\u003cbr\u003eable-bodied\u003cbr\u003eman, who could work at any business.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Your father was glad to have it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, mother, but he had lost an arm in the war, and could not engage\u003cbr\u003ein\u003cbr\u003eany business that required both hands.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"That is true, Herbert, but I am afraid there will be more than one\u003cbr\u003ewho\u003cbr\u003ewill be willing to relieve me of the duties. Old Mrs. Allen called at\u003cbr\u003ethe office to-day, and told me she understood that there was a\u003cbr\u003ePage 1\u003cbr\u003eDo and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune\u003cbr\u003emovement\u003cbr\u003eon foot to have Ebenezer Graham appointed.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Squire Walsingham's nephew?\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes; it is understood that the squire will throw his influence into\u003cbr\u003ethe\u003cbr\u003escale, and that will probably decide the matter.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Then it's very mean of Squire Walsingham,\" said Herbert, indignantly.\u003cbr\u003e\"He knows that you depend on the office for a living.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Most men are selfish, my dear Herbert.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"But he was an old schoolfellow of father's, and it was as his\u003cbr\u003esubstitute that father went to the war where he was wounded.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"True, Herbert, but I am afraid that consideration won't weigh much\u003cbr\u003ewith\u003cbr\u003eJohn Walsingham.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"I have a great mind to go and see him, mother. Have you any\u003cbr\u003eobjections?\"\u003cbr\u003e\"I have no objections, but I am afraid it will do no good.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Mr. Graham ought to be ashamed, with the profits of his store, to\u003cbr\u003ewant\u003cbr\u003ethe post office also. His store alone pays him handsomely.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Mr. Graham is fond of money. He means to be a rich man.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"That is true enough. He is about the meanest man in town.\"\u003cbr\u003eA few words are needed in explanation, though the conversation\u003cbr\u003eexplains\u003cbr\u003eitself pretty well.\u003cbr\u003eHerbert's father, returning from the war with the loss of an arm, was\u003cbr\u003efortunate enough to receive the appointment of postmaster, and thus\u003cbr\u003eearn a small, but, with strict economy, adequate income, until a fever\u003cbr\u003eterminated his earthly career at middle age. Mr. Graham was a rival\u003cbr\u003eapplicant for the office, but Mr. Carr's services in the war were\u003cbr\u003ethought to give him superior claims, and he secured it. During the\u003cbr\u003emonth\u003cbr\u003ethat had elapsed since his death, Mrs. Carr had carried on the post\u003cbr\u003eoffice under a temporary appointment. She was a woman of good business\u003cbr\u003ecapacity, and already familiar with the duties of the office, having\u003cbr\u003eassisted her husband, especially during his sickness, when nearly the\u003cbr\u003ewhole work devolved upon her. Most of the village people were in favor\u003cbr\u003eof having her retained, but the local influence of Squire Walsingham\u003cbr\u003eand\u003cbr\u003ePage 2\u003cbr\u003eDo and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune\u003cbr\u003ehis nephew was so great that a petition in favor of the latter secured\u003cbr\u003enumerous signatures, and was already on file at the department in\u003cbr\u003eWashington, and backed by the congressman of the district, who was\u003cbr\u003ea political friend of the squire. Mrs. Carr was not aware that the\u003cbr\u003emovement for her displacement had gone so far.\u003cbr\u003eIt was already nine o'clock when Herbert's conversation with his\u003cbr\u003emother\u003cbr\u003eended, and he resolved to defer his call upon Squire Walsingham till\u003cbr\u003ethe\u003cbr\u003enext morning.\u003cbr\u003eAbout nine o'clock in the forenoon our young hero rang the bell of\u003cbr\u003ethe village magnate, and with but little delay was ushered into his\u003cbr\u003epresence.\u003cbr\u003eSquire Walsingham was a tall, portly man of fifty, sleek and evidently\u003cbr\u003eon excellent terms with himself. Indeed, he was but five years older\u003cbr\u003ethan his nephew, Ebenezer Graham, and looked the younger of the two,\u003cbr\u003edespite the relationship. If he had been a United States Senator he\u003cbr\u003ecould not have been more dignified in his deportment, or esteemed\u003cbr\u003ehimself of greater consequence. He was a selfish man, but he was free\u003cbr\u003efrom the mean traits that characterized his nephew.\u003cbr\u003e\"You are the Carr boy,\" said the squire, pompously, looking over his\u003cbr\u003espectacles at Herbert, as he entered the door.\u003cbr\u003e\"My name is Herbert Carr,\" said Herbert, shortly. \"You have known me\u003cbr\u003eall\u003cbr\u003emy life.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Certainly,\" said the squire, a little ruffled at the failure of his\u003cbr\u003egrand manner to impose upon his young visitor. \"Did I not call you the\u003cbr\u003eC","brand":"All classic book warehouse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47181527810288,"sku":"2940014465014","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014465014_p0.jpg?v=1763609486","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014465014","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}