Summary
Summary of Fighting for Fortune
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A young captain faces powerful rivals
Dean Mercer wants a different future from the one waiting in a law office. In Millville on Lake Seneca, a wealthy judge offers him the chance to run a new steamer. For Dean, it is a chance to build something useful and prove himself.
The town's waterfront is controlled by rich men whose poor service holds it back. A modern boat threatens their profits, and the owner of the old packet boats is willing to stop it by any means.
Key idea 2
Dean earns an enemy through kindness
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Key idea 3
Partnership brings trust and responsibility
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Key idea 4
Hidden watchers turn trust into danger
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Key idea 5
Public success gives way to suspicion
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Key idea 6
Rivalry puts passengers in danger
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Key idea 7
A false identity steals Dean's freedom
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Key idea 8
Marcus turns escape into an investigation
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Key idea 9
A good name deserves a fight
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who love old-fashioned adventure, with boy heroes, lake steamers, secret plots and daring escapes, and who enjoy a clear tale of loyalty and justice where good friends stand together against crooked rivals.
What this book is
Fighting for Fortune is a boys' adventure novel by Roy Franklin. It follows Dean Mercer, a seventeen-year-old who leaves a law office to run a new steamer on a sleepy lake town's waterfront. The book gives you a fast chain of schemes, kidnappings, escapes and chases, with a young hero who keeps his honor while everything goes wrong.
The setting is Millville on Lake Seneca, a town held back by two rich men. One runs a creaking stagecoach line and the other runs slow, leaky packet boats. When a wealthy judge brings in a modern steamer, the owner of the old packet boats decides to stop it by any means. Dean is the young man the judge trusts to run the new boat.
The story moves quickly, with short chapters and plenty of action. You meet a salty old sailor, a clever boy detective, a mad woman of the hills and a pair of young schemers who will do anything for money. Let us begin with the choice that sets it all in motion, when Dean walks out of a stuffy law office and into a rescue on the wharf.
In this summary
- 1A Boyish Choice and a Fair FightFree
- 2A New Steamer and a Missed Boat
- 3Enemies Plot While Dean Races
- 4A Stateroom With a Secret
- 5Fire, Forgery and a Shock at the Bank
- 6A Triumph Turns Into Suspicion
- 7The Race and the Crash
- 8Prison Without a Crime
- 9Escape and the Boy Detective
Key point 1 of 9
A Boyish Choice and a Fair Fight
The story opens as Dean Mercer steps out of the law office of Russell Montague, his employer. He has just quit a promising career in law, and everyone calls it a boyish choice. His father saw that his heart was not in the work, and his mother hated to see him go. Dean feels free and sure that he will win, whatever happens.
On the wharf at Millville he hears cries from behind a pile of boxes. A burly eighteen-year-old named Tim Downey is beating a smaller boy. Dean grabs the bully by the collar and throws him back, and when Tim lunges at him, Dean knocks him flat. The boy he saves is a stranger named Marcus Ellison, who thanks him and hurries off.
Tim has a bad name in town. He has been jailed twice for stealing, and all the respectable boys avoid him. He swears he will fix Dean for meddling and says he knows a thing or two Dean does not.
Then Mr. Montague hurries up with a private errand. He hands Dean a wallet holding a thousand dollars and papers worth more than the money. They are new evidence to clear Robert Ellison, who is on trial for murder. Dean must carry them to Mr. Durand in Springfield and let no one else touch them. From around a corner, Tim watches the handoff and mutters that he will not let such a prize go by.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does the owner of the old packet boats want to stop the new steamer?
Right. “When a wealthy judge brings in a modern steamer, the owner of the old packet boats decides to stop it by any means.”Not quite. “When a wealthy judge brings in a modern steamer, the owner of the old packet boats decides to stop it by any means.”
What puts Robert Ellison's life at risk after Marcus disappears?
Right. “The lawyer says that without those papers Robert Ellison faces the electric chair.”Not quite. “The lawyer says that without those papers Robert Ellison faces the electric chair.”
What does Marcus do that helps trace Dean's false imprisonment?
Right. “He has also copied Dean's record from the prison register, which shows the false name and the justice's name.”Not quite. “He has also copied Dean's record from the prison register, which shows the false name and the justice's name.”
Questions about Fighting for Fortune
What is Fighting for Fortune about?
It follows seventeen-year-old Dean Mercer, who takes command of a new lake steamer. Rivals burn the boat, steal a fortune and have him locked away, and Dean and his friend Marcus must escape and expose the plot.
Who is Crazy Meg in Fighting for Fortune?
Crazy Meg is a wandering woman of the hills, thought to have escaped an asylum. She marks people she dislikes with a red X, hoards money, and knows a secret about a murder that matters to the story.
What happens to the steamer Spray?
The Spray is the new steamer Judge Oglesby buys to compete with the old lake boats. Enemies try to burn it, which sets off the chain of plots that Dean Mercer must untangle.
Is Fighting for Fortune easy to read?
It is told in short chapters with plenty of dialogue and lively action. The sailor Jack Carboy adds humor, so the plot is simple to follow.
What is the main message of Fighting for Fortune?
The book shows that honesty, courage and loyal friends can outlast treachery. A good name may be stolen for a time, but patient effort and standing together can win it back.
