Bob Burton (Illustrated Edition): The Young Ranchman of Missouri (Classic Fiction for Young Adults Book 19)

Richard Burton, a ranch owner in Iowa on the Missouri River, is in debt to miser Aaron Wolverton, and makes the semi-annual interest payment on his mortgage. Aaron hates Richard because his wife, Mary Burton, took Richard's proposal above his own. He hates the hero Bob, Richard's son, because Bob has actively and physically defended Aaron's ward and nephew, Sam, from his unjust guardianship. On the way home from this trip, Richard stops and drinks whiskey with friends. Unaccustomed to drinking, he becomes drunk and is unable to control his ill-tempered horse. Richard is thrown from his horse and killed. Both Clip, a refugee slave who works for the Burtons, and Aaron see the accident. Clip hides and sees Aaron searching the dead man's pockets for the receipt for the interest payment. Aaron finds it and retreats, Clip brings a doctor, but it is too late.

Mary is crushed but agrees to give Bob one year to run the ranch to see if they should sell it or stay on. Aaron then comes to the house and demands a second payment. If they should not pay, Aaron says, Mary need only wed him to avoid eviction. Luckily, Sam finds the receipt in Aaron's office and brings it to Bob. Aaron is incensed at his unexplained loss and vows to serve eviction the next day. When Aaron does come, Bob produces the receipt. Aaron claims it is a forgery, but he knows that his plan will no longer work. He swears revenge.

This edition of the book contains 15 subject-relevant illustrations that are unique to this edition of the book.

Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the Gilded Age.

* This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that has been curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted in an attempt to remove imperfections introduced by the digitization process.

* If typographic, spelling, or grammatical errors were present in the original, they may have been preserved.

* As few changes as possible have been made to either illustrations or text in order to bring you an e-book that is as close to the original as possible.