The Adventures of Bobby Orde

Bobby Orde is a bright‑eyed nine‑year‑old whose world revolves around the hum of a bustling lumber town and the mysteries hidden in its corners. He spends his mornings slipping into the “Proper Place,” a tiny closet under the stairs, where his loyal black‑and‑white setter, Duke, watches over him. The boy’s imagination is sparked by the gleaming Flobert rifle displayed in a shop window and the catalogues of firearms that line his shelves, fueling dreams of adventure beyond his everyday chores.

When Bobby finally ventures into his father’s office, the air thick with the scent of old tobacco and polished wood, he is surrounded by ledgers, maps, and models of tugboats that seem to whisper of distant rivers and hidden horizons. His curiosity is matched only by his reverence for the bustling world beyond the office doors, a place where the clang of the livery stable and the rhythm of the streets promise a life waiting to be explored.