CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. A Proposal and an Acceptance 9 II. The Scout of the Kennebec 19 III. At the Inlet 29 IV. A STRANGE RACE 40 V. The Loser of the Race 51 VI. A Warm Reception 62 VII. Science versus Strength 72 VIII. The Lone Guest 83 IX. A Break Down 93 X. At Beartown 104 XI. At the Post Office in Beartown 115 XII. Hostesses and Guests 126 XIII. An Incident on Shipboard 137 XIV. “The Night Shall be Filled with Music” 147 XV. A Knock at the Door 155 XVI. Visitors of the Night 166 XVII. “Tall Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” 177 XVIII. A Clever Trick 188 XIX. In the Nick of Time 198 XX. “I Piped and Ye Danced” 208 XXI. How It Was Done 219 XXII. A Startling Discovery 230 XXIII. Through the Fog 242 XXIV. Bad for Mike Murphy 252 XXV. What Saved Mike 263 XXVI. The Good Samaritans 273 XXVII. An Unwelcome Caller 284 XXVIII. Plucking a Brand From the Burning 296 XXIX. “The Beautiful Isle of Somewhere” 307 XXX. A Through Ticket to Home 318 XXXI. Gathering Up the Ravelled Threads 329 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE None Suspected the Meaning of What They Saw Frontispiece Like a Swallow Skimming Close to the Surface. 233 “Give Me Your Hand on That.” 292 THE TELEGRAPH MESSENGER BOY Or The Straight Road To Success By Edward S. Ellis CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. On a Log 1 II. The Collision 8 III. The Office Boy 16 IV. A Message in the Night 22 V. In Storm and Darkness 29 VI. “Tell Mother I Am All Right” 36 VII. A Thrilling Voyage 43 VIII. The Cipher Telegram 50 IX. The Translation 57 X. Farmer Jones 64 XI. The Value of Courtesy 71 XII. A Call 78 XIII. At the Grandin Mansion 85 XIV. The Conspiracy 93 XV. An Affray at Night 99 XVI. The Third Telegram 106 XVII. Decidedly Mixed 113 XVIII. Between Two Fires 120 XIX. Baffled! 127 XX. Watching and Waiting 134 XXI. “Lay Low!” 141 XXII. The Battle of Life 148 XXIII. Face to Face 155 XXIV. Startling Discoveries 160 XXV. In the Nick of Time 169 XXVI. Conclusion 176 CAMP-FIRE AND WIGWAM. By EDWARD S. ELLIS