From Office Boy to Reporter

Howard R. Garis launches this lively newspaper-world adventure with Larry Dexter, a strong, observant farm boy forced by poverty to leave home and make his way in New York. When a sheriff's sale strips the Dexter family farm bare after his father's death and financial ruin, Larry sees through the manipulation behind the auction and vows to help his widowed mother survive the loss. The family's move to the city is painful but hopeful: some children marvel at the sights, others grieve, and Mrs. Dexter clings to the chance of a fresh start. But New York offers little mercy. Their hoped-for refuge has vanished, and a kind stranger must open her crowded home to them before they can rent a few modest rooms and begin again. Larry soon takes on the burden of finding work, only to meet disappointment, hunger, and finally danger when a seemingly ordinary errand ends in his abduction. Dragged to a deserted building and held captive by unknown men, Larry is left frightened, baffled, and determined to uncover the mystery behind his kidnapping. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.