Soldiers of Fortune by Richard Harding Davis, 1897. In the stifling jungles of a small South American country, Robert Clay works as a civil engineer at a mine. With two American assistants, he attempts to reap all the rewards found in this challenging environment. But he also has a secret history as a mercenary, fighting for whichever side will pay him the most. Clay finds himself in love with Alice Langham, the daughter of the wealthy American owner of the mine. His competition for Alice is Reggie King, who is also from an illustrious and powerful family. Together, these characters find themselves at the center of an explosive political situation, where a violent revolution is about to begin. Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916) was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War.