Jack Harding is a twelve year old boy who finds a basket on his doorstep. After raising the child for seven years Jack and his parents are alarmed when a lady claiming to have been the infant's nurse arrives to reclaim the child. Horatio Alger, Jr. authored about seventy books. He was the son of a clergyman, graduated from Harvard. His stories are pure, inspiring and as endearing today as they were when first published.