“She told her mother Rob’s account of Fred.”—Page 19.
HALF A DOZEN BOYS
AN EVERY-DAY STORY
BY
ANNA CHAPIN RAY
AUTHOR OF “HALF A DOZEN GIRLS,” “CADETS OF FLEMMING HALL,”
“MARGARET DAVIS, TUTOR”
ILLUSTRATED
BY
FRANK T. MERRILL
New York: 46 East Fourteenth Street
THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY
Boston: 100 Purchase Street
Copyright, 1890 and 1895,
By Thomas Y. Crowell & Company.
Typography by C. J. Peters & Son
Boston.
PREFACE.
- TO ALL MY BOY AND GIRL FRIENDS,
- Greeting!
IT is quite impossible for me to make this preface as impersonal as that of the earlier edition. Some of you I know; many of you I may never meet; and yet I can scarcely feel that this foreword is addressed merely to strangers. Rather let it carry a word of personal greeting to each one of you who may chance to read it.
The five years since the book was written have brought me into still closer contact with my boy friends, and the circle of them is constantly widening. However, when I read over this story preparatory to the new edition, I lose thought of everything else but the desire to go back to the childhood of the Half Dozen Boys.
They are all real boys, and to-day our friendship is as firm as ever. The next Yale catalogue will show the names of four of them; one is at sea, and of the sixth I have lost all knowledge. They are real boys still; but, in the tall, dignified young students, I miss the old harum-scarum Teddy, the irrepressible Phil.
Fuzz is now sleeping on the lawn, outside my window, and the Dominie is by his side. New dogs rule the household; new boys are coming and going; but they can never be like the dear old friends whom now, for a second time, I am introducing to you.
Receive them, then, as kindly as you can.
Tremont,
- Tenth February, 1895.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Drawn by Frank Merrill
page “She told Her Mother Rob’s Account of Fred” (Frontispiece) Fuzz Title Page. The Choir Boys 9 Fred 26 “‘That isn’t Much like Fred,’ said Phil” 49 Walks and Talks 82 “He held Mrs. Carter’s Skein of Yarn while She wound It” 89 “‘Well, He has had Everything Possible done for Him’” 99 “‘Well, Fred, what do You say to Our starting on Our Lessons To-morrow?’” 116 “‘What is It Now?’ She inquired, as She bent over the Fireplace” 134 “‘It isn’t so Bad After All, is It, Fuzz?’” 168 “Frank Muir burst into a Hearty Laugh, as He rose to rescue the Unoffending Cat” 190 “There was no resisting the Influence of Such a Voice” 198 “He came to bring Me Some Twigs” 216 “Boat, Ahoy!” 236 “No, He’ll Never tell” 256 “Sam, half carrying, half dragging Fred, ... staggered out into the open Air” 275 “‘Bless You, My Children!’” 306
CONTENTS
chapter page I. Introduces Some New Friends 9 II. Fred 26 III. The Beginning of the Fight 41 IV. The Other Boys 58 V. Walks and Talks 78 VI. Fred’s New Home 98 VII. “And when the fight is fierce” 114 VIII. King Winter 132 IX. The I. I.’s 161 X. Bob and Fred Entertain Callers 181 XI. The Disadvantages of Science 201 XII. Their Summer Outing 218 XIII. The Boys Meet an Old Friend 234 XIV. Phil’s Fight 249 XV. “Greater love hath no man” 266 XVI. A Literary Evening 281 XVII. Rob Assists at an Important Interview 296 XVIII. “The Victor’s Crown of Gold” 308
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1945, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 78 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse