Dick Hamilton's Fortune by Howard Roger Garis

Dick Hamilton's Fortune follows a good-natured young millionaire whose inheritance comes with a stern lesson: he must make a wise, profitable investment within a year or lose control of his fortune and fall under the rule of his rigid Uncle Ezra and Aunt Samantha. On his birthday, Dick refuses a shady billiards wager, helps a struggling friend, and then learns the troubling terms of his late mother's will. Determined to prove himself, he faces schemers, social pressure, and the cold discipline of Dankville's most exacting household. Dick's courage is tested in dramatic fashion when his motorboat bursts into flames at a water pageant, and he risks his life to save others before being rescued by loyal Bricktop and nursed by his faithful bulldog, Grit. His popularity grows, but so do the schemes around him: a festive lawn party turns ominous as Simon Scardale and Guy Fletcher plot mischief, and Grit is later stolen for ransom. Refusing to surrender, Dick becomes a detective, tracks clues toward Leonardville, and even backs a daring flying-machine venture with inventor Herr Doodlebrod, hoping to secure his future through ingenuity, loyalty, and grit. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.