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Reuben Stone's discovery — A Reader’s Guide

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In Category - Historical Psychological Social Fiction

Authors: Stratemeyer, Edward, 1862-1930 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2024 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Detective and mystery stories; Fraud -- Juvenile fiction; Mills and mill-work -- Juvenile fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 58,887

Reading time 257 min

Text sections 45

The catalog record for Reuben Stone's discovery — A Reader’s Guide provides practical reading context through 58,887 words, 4 hr 17 min estimated reading time, and 45 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 11.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Detective and mystery stories,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #74197

Edward Stratemeyer's 1895 novel follows young miller Reuben Stone, left in charge of his father's mill, who uncovers a plot involving his own uncle and a gang of thieves. The story is told in Reuben's first-person voice, blending millwork details with a detective-mystery plot.

Editorial Edition Score 4.9/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg74197

Read the Text

“It ain’t no use to talk, Rube, that bill has got to be paid.” Mr. James Jackson brought his fist down on the little desk in one corner of the mill with such force that everything jumped. “I’ve waited for it till I’m all out of patience, and now I want my money.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jackson,” I replied, “very sorry indeed to keep you waiting; but it cannot be helped. Business has been backward this summer, as you know, and money is tight.”

“It never was tight when your father was here,” growled the principal storekeeper of Torrent Bend, as he strode up and down the whitened floor. “Every bill was paid on the spot.”

“That is true, sir; but father knew the business was getting poorer every day, and that is the reason he left to see if he couldn’t locate in some place in the West.”

“Might better have stayed here and tended to this place, and not let his son run it into the ground.”

“I am not running the business into the ground,” I cried, with some show of spirit, because I thought the assertion an unfair one. “I do all the grinding that comes in, and even go over to Bayport and down to Sander’s Point in the boat to get it.”

“Pooh! don’t tell me! Young men around here don’t amount to much! But that ain’t here or there. I came for that money.”

“I will see if I can pay it to-day. I have a load of middlings to take over to Mr. Carnet this morning, and if he pays me I will come right down to the Bend and settle up.”

“And if he don’t pay?”

“Well, pay or not, I’ve got to have my money, and that’s all there is to it. You can’t have any more goods till you square accounts.”

And having thus delivered himself, Mr. Jackson stamped out of the mill, jumped into his buckboard, and drove off for the village.

He did not leave me in a very happy state of mind. I was in sole charge of the mill, and I was finding it hard work to make everything run smoothly.

Two months before, my father had departed for the West, with a view to locating a new mill in any spot that might promise well. Affairs in Torrent Bend were nearly at a standstill, with no prospect of improving.

I was but sixteen years old, but I had been born and raised in the mill, and I understood the business fully as well as the average miller.

I ground out all the wheat, corn, rye, and buckwheat that came to hand, took my portion of the same and disposed of it to the best advantage. In addition to this I used up all my spare time in drumming up trade; and what more could any one do?

With the exception of my father, and an uncle whom I had never seen, I was alone in the world. My mother had died four years before, while I was still attending the district school, and two years later my twin sisters had followed her.

These deaths had been a severe blow to both my father and myself. To me my mother had been all that such a kind and loving parent can be, and my sisters had been my only playmates.

My father and I were not left long to mourn. There were heavy bills to be met, and we worked night and day to get out of debt.

At length came the time when all was free and clear, and we were nearly two hundred dollars ahead. Then my father got it into his mind that he could do better in some new Western place; and he left to be gone at least three months.

For a time all worked smoothly. I had for a helper a young man named Daniel Ford, a hearty, whole-souled fellow, and we got along splendidly together; but one night an accident happened.

The raceway to the mill was an old one, and a heavy rain-storm increased the volume of water to such an extent that it was partly carried away. I had the damage repaired at once; but the cost was such that it threw us once more into debt, and made it necessary for me to purchase groceries from Mr. Jackson on credit.

This I hated to do, knowing well the mean spirit of the man. But his store was the only one on this side of Rock Island Lake where my father was in the habit of purchasing, and I had to submit.

Continue Reading →

Edward Stratemeyer’s 1895 novel Reuben Stone’s Discovery is narrated in the first person by its teenage protagonist, a device the author’s preface acknowledges may not satisfy “older heads” but proved popular with boy readers. The catalog subjects list “Detective and mystery stories,” “Fraud,” and “Mills and mill-work,” and the excerpts bear out all three: Reuben is bound and imprisoned in a grain-bin, kicked by his own uncle, and later freed by a friend named Dan Ford. The mill setting is not mere backdrop but a functional space—the grain-bin, the lower mill room, the cove above—where the action unfolds.

First-Person Narration and the Boy’s Perspective

The preface states that “Reuben tells his own story, and does it in his own peculiar way.” The excerpts confirm a direct, colloquial voice: “I don’t see it,” “Let me up!” and “You are a villain.” Reuben’s reactions—indignation at being called a thief, alarm when bound, bitterness toward his uncle—are rendered without adult mediation. The narrative stays close to his immediate sensations: the rat that “scrambled over my legs,” the kick that “caused me to cry out with pain.” This focalization limits the reader’s knowledge to what Reuben sees and hears, a technique that heightens suspense when he is trapped and cannot see what the robbers are doing downstairs.

The Mill as a Site of Conflict

The catalog subject “Mills and mill-work” is not merely decorative. The mill’s physical layout drives the plot: Reuben is dragged “into the mill, and up the stairs into the grain-bin,” and later rescued when Dan Ford enters the “lower mill room.” The mill is also a contested property—Reuben’s father has left it in his charge while seeking business out West, and the uncle’s scheme involves fraud or theft related to the mill. The preface mentions that Reuben is “made to believe several stories concerning his absent parent and the mill property,” and the excerpts show the uncle’s violent attempt to silence him. The mill thus functions as both a workplace and a trap, its familiar spaces turned hostile.

Uncle as Antagonist and the Moral Calculus

The catalog subject “Fraud” is embodied by Reuben’s uncle, Mr. Norton, who is also one of “the three robbers.” The excerpts show Norton threatening Reuben: “If you want to be an enemy to your own uncle and his friends be so; but you have got to take the consequences.” Reuben’s response—“I will never side with a set of thieves!”—sets up a clear moral binary, yet the familial relationship complicates it. The preface notes that Reuben is “made to believe several stories” about his father and the mill, suggesting that the fraud may involve deception about the father’s fate. The excerpts do not reveal the full scheme, but the uncle’s role as both relative and villain creates a tension between loyalty and justice that the novel likely explores further.

Pacing and the Use of Physical Restraint

The excerpts show a pattern of physical immobilization followed by escape. Reuben is bound hand and foot, left in a grain-bin, and freed only when Dan Ford arrives. The scene is drawn out: Reuben tugs at the ropes for five minutes, calls for help, hears a rat, then hears a sound at the door. This pacing—alternating stillness with sudden action—is characteristic of adventure fiction. The author uses the mill’s isolation to amplify tension: “Would I have to lie there until morning, or longer, and leave the three robbers to escape?” The rescue is swift, but the threat of the uncle’s escape drives Reuben to propose following the men, setting up the next phase of the story.

Readers should note that the excerpts cover only a portion of the novel—roughly one scene of captivity and rescue. The catalog subjects hint at a larger fraud plot involving the mill and Reuben’s absent father, but the excerpts do not reveal the resolution. The first-person narration and the mill setting are consistent features, but the full scope of the “discovery” promised in the title remains to be seen. Approach the text as a period adventure with a strong sense of place and a morally straightforward young hero.

There’s something tender about Reuben Stone, a boy trusted with his father’s mill, finding betrayal wearing a familiar face. That quiet ache—where duty meets family—lingers. I thought of it again reading Too dearly bought, a story that circles similar ground with softer, sadder light. Too dearly bought — Story, Setting & Ideas feels like coming home to an old question.