"Alger Jr, Horatio - Frank's Campaign" - читать интересную книгу автора (Alger Horatio Jr)

"Impudent puppy!" he muttered to himself; "he seems to forget
that I have a mortgage of eight hundred dollars on his farm. When
the time comes to foreclose it, I will show him no mercy. I'll
sell him out, root and branch!"

Mr. Frost could not read the thoughts that were passing through
the mind of his creditor. They might have given him a feeling of
uneasiness, but would not in the least have influenced his
action. He was a man loyal to his own convictions of duty, and no
apprehension of personal loss would have prevented his speaking
in accordance with what he felt to be right.

The considerations which had been urged were so reasonable that
the voters present, with very little opposition, voted to pay one
hundred and fifty dollars to each one who was willing to enlist
as one of the town's quota. A list was at once opened, and after
the close of the meeting four young men came forward and put down
their names, amid the applause of the assembly.

"I wanted to do it before," said John Drake, one of the number,
to Mr. Frost, "but I've got a wife and two little children
dependent upon me for support. I couldn't possibly support them
out of my thirteen dollars a month, even with the State aid. But
your motion has decided me. I could do better by staying at home,
even with that; but that isn't the question. I want to help my
country in this hour of her need; and now that my mind is at ease
about my family, I shall cheerfully enter the service."

"And I know of no one who will make a better soldier!" said Mr.
Frost heartily.



CHAPTER II. THE PRIZE

A few rods distant from the Town Hall, but on the opposite side
of the street, stood the Rossville Academy. It had been for some
years under the charge of James Rathburn, A. M., a thorough
scholar and a skilful teacher. A large part of his success was
due to his ability in making the ordinary lessons of the
schoolroom interesting to his scholars.

Some forty students attended the academy, mostly from the town of
Rossville. Mr. Rathburn, however, received a few boarders into
his family.

There were three classes in the Latin language; but the majority
of those who had taken it up stopped short before they had gone
beyond the Latin Reader. One class, however, had commenced
reading the Aeneid of Virgil, and was intending to pursue the