"As long as I can't be at home," said Harry Fleming, "I'd rather be here than anywhere in the world I can think of!" "Rather!" said his companion, Dick Mercer. "I say, Harry, it must be funny to be an American!" Harry laughed heartily. "I'd be angry, Dick," he said, finally, "if that wasn't so English—and so funny! Still, I suppose that's one reason you Britishers are as big an empire as you are. You think it's sort of funny and a bit of a misfortune, don't you, to be anything but English?"

Colonel George Durston was a fictional author created by the Saalfield Publishing Company, who was credited with the authorship of various American series books. Durston is credited for the "Boy Scouts" series, 24 volumes originally published by Saalfield between 1912 and 1919. 

Summer Days By George M. BakerSummer Days By George M. Baker

Chelsea Curtis Fraser wrote this popular book that continues to be widely read today despite its age.

"There she comes," exclaimed a boy, one of a crowd awaiting the evening train in the hot little box of a depot at Silver City, New Mexico. A speck of yellow had suddenly appeared far down the light, worn rails to the east. Fifty loungers moved forward. The evening train was coming at last. "If mother don't look out," added the speaker, who was a tall, slender young chap with strikingly black hair and eyes, "she'll miss the train an' the folks that are coming. Mother seems to like to be late—always." "Don't get excited, Jerry," broke in a second boy, this one with big shoulders, a square determined face with a winning smile, and, his chief characteristic, a big mop of yellow hair. "I think Ike and your mother are coming right now." While the headlight was yet only a growing star on the far-away plain, a military hack, drawn by two nervous horses in charge of a colored soldier in uniform, dashed up to the now lively depot in a cloud of dust.

The Aldens have promised Grandfather a vacation from mysteries during their island visit. But the promise proves hard to keep when things start to go missing. Then an old fisherman tells Benny of the island’s ghost horse, and late that very night Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach. Could the ghost horse have something to do with the disappearances?

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Black Bruin - The Biography of a Bear is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Clarence Hawkes is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Clarence Hawkes then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

The fun and fantasy continue with bestselling and award-winning author M. T. Anderson. You haven't seen strange until you've seen what Brian and Gregory are up against.... Something incredibly strange is happening. It's not The Game of Sunken Places-Brian and Gregory have been through that before. But still...strange creatures have begun to chase after them. And Gregory's adventurous cousin Prudence has disappeared. When Brian and Gregory go to the Vermont woods to track down Prudence, they find many things are...off. People are not where they're supposed to be. Time has stopped working properly.

As Johnny Thompson bent over the black waters of the river he thought he heard a stealthy movement behind him. Before he could decide whether or not his eyes had deceived him he caught the reflection of a sudden white gleam on the dark surface of the water. At the same time something told him to dive, and dive he did. With the rocket-like speed that was his, he shot straight into the water, then away beneath the surface. He rose some ten yards downstream. After one deep, silent breath, he grasped a red mangrove branch for support, then paused to listen.

My dear Anne, When I was upon a visit at your good mamma's, I promised to make you a present. Now a present for a girl of your age (if I only considered your age) is easy enough to find; but when I think on your good sense, I cannot reconcile myself to buy for you what I otherwise should. Not to keep you in suspense, I have at last found out a present, which I hope will be agreeable to you. Attend to the following adventure: I was walking, about a week ago, in the fields adjoining my house at Croydon. The evening was so delightful, I wandered insensibly much farther than I at first intended to go. The prospect was so charming, and the hay smelt so agreeably, that I never thought of returning, till I found myself rather tired, so sat down by one of the haycocks to rest myself. After having sufficiently rested, I made the best of my way towards home; when, (guess my surprise!) putting my hand in my pocket, I felt something soft, which seemed as if it moved, and pulling it out, I found it to be as pretty a Squirrel as you would wish to see. He ran round the table several times, and giving a good spring, seated himself on the dumb waiter. I immediately said to one of my servants: "I wonder how this squirrel got in my pocket," when my surprise was greatly increased by hearing it say, "If you will use me kindly, I will relate my history, and then you will learn what made me get into your pocket." My dear Anne immediately came in my mind, for I thought nothing would be more agreeable to her than, "The Adventures of a Squirrel, related by himself." "Come and sit nearer to me," said I, "that I may hear better all you are going to relate." After having seated himself once more, he began as follows. ADVENTURESOF ASQUIRREL, &c. CHAPTER I. I was born in Caen Wood, near Hampstead. Being taken out of the nest, (in which were my mother and my brother,) very young, I shall begin by telling you, I was carried to the house of him that stole me, which was at Hackney. Here I was tied to a long pole, till he could procure a cage, which was not till the end of three weeks; when (what he termed) a very nice one came home, with a chain to fasten round my neck, with a padlock, when I came out of the cage. The chain he fastened on me directly, and it remained on, till my house was properly aired. When he thought I might with safety enter my house, he took off the chain, and carried me, exulting in his prize, to his sister; for he had kept me quite secure, till he could present me to her politely. She thanked him for his kind present, and then proposed making a trial of my abilities in the exercising way. You, perhaps, may wonder what this exercise was. My cage was made to go round upon wires, so that whenever I moved it went round, and caused a tinkling with some bells that were fixed for that purpose. At this exercise I remained nearly half an hour, and whenever I attempted to stand still, they pricked me with a pin. Luckily the dinner bell rang, or they might have kept me at it half an hour more. I will now give you some account of my master and his family....

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Boy Patriot by Edward Sylvester Ellis The touching tale of an unexpected friendship in the face of overwhelming odds. Blair Robertson has a powerful gift: He is a great talker. When he speaks, other kids listen. And he really loves to speak. One of his favorite subjects is his native land, the new United States of America. When Hal, a British orphan, passes by Blair and his friends, Blair yells, “Down with the British!” and compels his friends to toss poor Hal off the dock and into the water. Little to Blair’s knowledge, Hal doesn’t know how to swim. Set in Fairport, Maine, at the outbreak of the War of 1812, The Boy Patriot follows Blair as he attempts to balance his patriotism with the need to do right, while learning that friendship can emerge from the most unlikely places. When a British vessel arrives on the horizon, though, Blair knows his life will never be the same. Edward Sylvester Ellis (April 11, 1840 – June 20, 1916) was an American author who was born in Ohio and died at Cliff Island, Maine. Ellis was a teacher, school administrator, journalist, and the author of hundreds of books and magazine articles that he produced by his name and by a number of noms de plume. Notable fiction stories by Ellis include The Steam Man of the Prairies and Seth Jones, or the Captives of the Frontier. Internationally, Edward S. Ellis is probably known best for his Deerfoot novels read widely by young boys until the 1950s.