
Chapter One. - The Western Paradise.
Chapter Two. - Our Yankee Neighbour.
Chapter Three. - The Man from the Wilderness.
Chapter Four. - Went off to Sleep.
Chapter Five. - A Piece of Skin.
Chapter Six. - A Wild-Goose Chase.
Chapter Seven. - All for Gold.
Chapter Eight. - Shutting up Shop.
Chapter Nine. - A Night Scare.
Chapter Ten. - On the Way.
In a sun‑baked outpost barely clinging to the edge of a once‑lush valley, a wiry father‑figure sits at a makeshift desk, scratching rare letters homeward while his two teenage lads fumble through the day’s chores. Their banter—full of missed catches, torn clothes and hopeful talk of rains returning—captures the rough charm of a community living like modern Robinson Crusoes, where every task feels both comic and vital.
Beyond the dusty huts, the land is a patchwork of dry pools and a vanished river, hinting at a deeper scarcity that will test the boys’ ingenuity. As the father warns them that “a stitch in time saves nine,” a subtle tension builds: the valley’s promise of paradise masks an undercurrent of danger and mystery. Listeners are drawn into a world where survival, family bonds, and the promise of an incoming storm shape the first steps of an adventure that’s just beginning.
Language
en
Duration
~14 hours (838K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Release date
2008-05-11
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1831–1909
A hugely productive Victorian storyteller, he wrote adventure tales, school stories, and historical fiction that kept generations of young readers turning pages. Before becoming a full-time author, he worked as a teacher, editor, and journalist, experiences that gave his fiction its lively, practical feel.
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