Rough and Ready is Book #4 in the Ragged Dick series, and another exciting story. Rufus (or "Rough & Ready" as his street name), an entrepreneurial newsboy, escapes with his younger sister from an abusive, drunken step-father, and vows to set up a better life for them even though this step-father does not let it happen so easily. Exciting stuff, and as always, great lessons learned, both morally and fiscally. (https://www.travis.media/books-read-and-courses-taken-in-february-2018)
Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the Gilded Age.