
ILLUSTRATIONS
CHAPTER I THE THREE GUARDSMEN
CHAPTER II KIDNAPPED!
CHAPTER III HELD BY THE ENEMY
CHAPTER IV HARMON COMES TO TERMS
CHAPTER V THE WRONG BOY
CHAPTER VI FIRST DAYS AT ALTON
CHAPTER VII IN THE COACH’S ROOM
CHAPTER VIII THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER
CHAPTER IX M’NATT ON SCIENCE
Three young men stride from a bustling Fifth Avenue stage onto the crowded streets of New York, their outfits a subtle echo of a disciplined past. Their camaraderie is evident in the quiet jokes and shared luggage, yet an unexpected theft in Grand Central turns their routine outing into a chaotic dash through a sea of commuters. The narrative captures the city’s kinetic energy—cabbies braking, crowds parting, a thief’s deft escape—while keeping a wry, almost theatrical tone.
The story unfolds with a blend of humor and tension, as the boys scramble after the thief, dropping parcels and sparking a whirlwind of shouted warnings. Amid the confusion, a sudden, surprising intervention hints at deeper undercurrents waiting to surface. This opening sets a lively stage for a tale that balances swift action with the quirks of youthful friendship, inviting listeners to follow the chase and wonder what lies beyond the bustling platform.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (347K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
Oct 29, 2014
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1870–1944
A prolific American novelist, Ralph Henry Barbour became known for lively school and sports stories filled with competition, teamwork, and school spirit. His energetic fiction helped make football, baseball, and other athletics a lasting part of early twentieth-century boys’ literature.
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by Ralph Henry Barbour

by Ralph Henry Barbour