The Missing Pocket-Book; Or, Tom Mason's Luck

"The Missing Pocket-Book; Or, Tom Mason's Luck" by Harry Castlemon is a novel written in the late 19th century. Set against the backdrop of a tense standoff between cattlemen and farmers in drought-stricken Texas, the story features the character Tom Mason, who is a young boy searching for his luck among the cattlemen. The novel explores themes of survival, conflict, and loyalty while revealing the struggles faced by those in the livestock industry as they battle both nature and each other. The opening of the novel introduces readers to a dramatic situation: a clash between desperate cattlemen, led by John Chisholm, and farmers who are prepared to defend their fields against an impending invasion of starving cattle. As tension escalates, Tom Mason—along with his friends Elam Storm and Carlos Burton—finds himself caught between the mounting conflict and the historic backdrop of cattle drives in Texas. The narrative begins to weave elements of their backstory while hinting at Tom's personal quest, setting up a rich tale of adventure, risk, and the defining moments in a young man's life amid the backdrop of a harsh and unforgiving land. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Charles Austin Fosdick, better known by his nom de plume Harry Castlemon, was a prolific writer of juvenile stories and novels, intended mainly for boys. He was born in Randolph, New York, and received a high school diploma from Central High School in Buffalo, New York. He served in the Union Navy from 1862 to 1865, during the American Civil War, acting as the receiver and superintendent of coal for the Mississippi River Squadron. Fosdick had begun to write as a teenager, and drew on his experiences serving in the Navy in such early novels as Frank on a Gunboat (1864) and Frank on the Lower Mississippi (1867). He soon became the most-read author for boys in the post-Civil War era, the golden age of children's literature.