TWO BOYS AND A FORTUNE

Or, The Tyler Will

BY

MATTHEW WHITE, JR., 1907

PREFACE

Among all my books, this one will always occupy a particularly warm
spot in my heart; for listen, reader, and I will let you into a little
secret. Riddle Creek is really Ridley, and is a true-enough stream,
flowing through one of the most charming regions in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania. The railroad trestle which plays such an important part
in the first chapter forms a picturesque feature of the landscape, in
full view of a home where I was wont to spend many a joyous
holiday-time and which I had in mind whenever I mentioned the Pellery.

Again, the odd little house on Seventh Street, Philadelphia, described
in Chapter XXVII, actually existed until pulled down some years since
to make room for a big manufacturing plant. I used to visit there
every time I went to the Quaker City, and all the furnishings
mentioned stand out vividly in my recollection to this day, even to
the guitar off in one corner. I never played Fish Pond there, but I
have eaten some of the best dinners I ever tasted in that famous
kitchen below stairs, which had to serve for dining room as well. That
kitchen and the great cat, who used to sun himself in the shop window,
loom large in my memories of boyhood.