44--Folly Lode By James F. Dorrance 45--The Forest Rogue By Julian G. Wharton To be published in October, 1926. 46--Snapshot Artillery By Bertram Lebhar 47--Stanley Holt, Thoroughbred By Ralph Boston To be published in November, 1926. 48--The Riddle and the Ring By Gordon MacLaren 49--The Black Eye Snapshot By Bertram Lebhar To be published in December, 1926. 50--Bainbridge of Bangor By Julian G. Wharton 51--Amid Crashing Hills By Edmond Lawrence Fighting for Fortune OR, Making a Place for Himself BY ROY FRANKLIN Author of “The Lost Mine,” “On Fortune’s Trail,” “Winning by Courage,” et cetera. [Illustration] (Printed in the U. S. A.) STREET & SMITH CORPORATION PUBLISHERS 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York Copyright, 1909 By STREET & SMITH Fighting for Fortune (Printed In the U. S. A.) All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. FIGHTING FOR FORTUNE. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. A BOYISH CHOICE. CHAPTER II. LEFT BEHIND. CHAPTER III. THE SLY HAND OF THE ENEMY. CHAPTER IV. “MAN OVERBOARD!” CHAPTER V. AN AMAZING DISCOVERY. CHAPTER VI. THE EIGHT-THOUSAND-DOLLAR CHECK. CHAPTER VII. THE NIGHT FIRE. CHAPTER VIII. THE MORNING NEWS. CHAPTER IX. TIM DEMANDS HIS DUES. CHAPTER X. A TELEPHONE MESSAGE. CHAPTER XI. UNDER SUSPICION. CHAPTER XII. THE RACE BETWEEN THE STEAMERS. CHAPTER XIII. THE FATE OF THE “WARRIOR.” CHAPTER XIV. A LINK IN THE CHAIN OF MYSTERY. CHAPTER XV. BEHIND PRISON BARS. CHAPTER XVI. HELPLESS AND HOPELESS. CHAPTER XVII. STRANGE MYSTERIES. CHAPTER XVIII. TALK OF ESCAPE. CHAPTER XIX. DIGGING THEIR WAY OUT. CHAPTER XX. THE FLIGHT FROM PRISON. CHAPTER XXI. MARCUS BECOMES A DETECTIVE. CHAPTER XXII. ON THE TRAIL. CHAPTER XXIII. AT MILLVILLE AGAIN. CHAPTER XXIV. WORSE AND WORSE. CHAPTER XXV. DEAN MERCER IN JAIL. CHAPTER XXVI. CRAZY MEG’S MARK. CHAPTER XXVII. A FRUITLESS SEARCH. CHAPTER XXVIII. RELEASED ON BAIL. CHAPTER XXIX. THE SECRET ENEMY. CHAPTER XXX. MARCUS DISCOVERS A CLUE. CHAPTER XXXI. WHAT THE BOYS FOUND. CHAPTER XXXII. IN THE VALLEY. CHAPTER XXXIII. IN OLD MEG’S CAVE. CHAPTER XXXIV. IN A HARD PLIGHT. CHAPTER XXXV. STARTLING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XXXVI. TIM DOWNEY ARRESTED. CHAPTER XXXVII. THE RECKONING. CHAPTER I. A BOYISH CHOICE. Dean Mercer drew a breath of relief as he stepped from the musty law office of his former employer, Russell Montague, into the open air. He knew that he had made the most momentous decision of his life--a decision which was to shape his whole future course of action. In doing this he had abandoned a promising law course, overcame the natural preference of his parents and “struck out for himself,” as he put it.