Jack Spurlock-Prodigal - The father of Jack. President of Consolidated Groceries possessor of a railroad, and a member of The System. MAJOR G EORG M E AGOFFIN JA CKSON. Lately a soldier of the Confederacy now a soldier of Fortune and an implacable foe of the Hell hounds of the System. ANITA GREY. The daughter of poor, but very smart parents, who are trying to make ends meet on the income of a million in a set where the million should be the income. LORD F ROTHINGHA An M A . merican nobleman. MISS ROBY. A Southern lady of the old school. JIM DURHAM. An advertising man of the new school. HANDY. A square gambler. RAWDEN. President of the Trouble Trust. Also introducing a Dancing Bear a Teddy-bear various members of the New and of the Old Rich of the Worthy and of the Unworthy Poor. -- CONTENTS -- CHAPTER I. IV. VI. VII. VIII. IX. XI. XII. PAGE In which the Prodigal Introduces Himself . 3 In which the Prodigal Describes His Life in the Galleys . . 22 In which the Prodigal Gives the Governor the Direct Command . 38 In which the Prodigal Meets the Most Beautiful One . 63 In which the Prodigal Reaches the Last Ditch - 83 In which the Prodigal Meets a Benevolent Old Gentleman . 107 In which the Prodigal Has a Surprising Adventure . I34 In which the Prodigal Spends a Pleasant Evening . 168 In which the Prodigal Goes to the Rescue of Beauty in Distress . . 189 In which the Prodigal Helps Collect a Little Bill . 235 In which the Prodigal Gets a Job . 260 In which the Prodigal Goes Home . 296 ILLUSTRATIONS She sniffed and sat down on it . Frontispiece I tink I puy mein groceries from a house dot haf young mans mit respegdt for deir Never mind all that, Jack 44 Stop that strike, Dad 54 An when she asked fo a place in the Mayday Dance, the insultin hound of a manager allowed that she could be the May-pole 136 I had a sickening certainty that the Major would furnish the corpse . 184 An exceedinly nutritious and gentlemanly repast . 236 I ve dined with them when Lord Strathmores old butler passed the poulet rBti as if he were handing around a platter of insults . 268 JACK SPURLOCKPRODIGAL JACK SPURLOCK - PRODIGAL CHAPTER I IN WHICH THE PRODIGAL INTRODUCES HIMSELF - M Y EXPULSION from Harvard came as a complete surprise to me, though I had rather expected to be dropped for low stand and was working three tutors to the bone, trying to move up a few parasangs to the position of foot of my class. But I was ruled off the course before I could achieve my proud ambition. It S rather a satisfaction, now that I look back on it, to think that, even if I did do some things of which I m ashamed, I helped three deserving young chaps to work their way through college. When my case came up before the faculty, it was horse and horse between the professors who wanted to drop me for low stand and those who wanted to expel me for high jinks. Prexy compromised it in his usual tactful way by dropping me first and expelling me afterward - lifted me out with a drop kick. He was awfully nice about it - expressed his regret with just the proper shade of disapproval of me in his voice, and me with the Citrus Limonurn done up in such choice language that I felt as if it were more than I shouldaccept from a comparative stranger, but when I got outside and took the wrappings off, I found that he had handed me the lemon just the same. When it comes to beautiful thoughts, baked to a crisp brown in hot air, Prexy is the Savarin of the human intellect...