Ragged Dick

Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks is a boys' book by Horatio Alger, Jr. It was published in parts (serialization) in the magazine "Student and Schoolmate" in 1867. It was then published as a book in 1868 by A. K. Loring of Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first of six books in the "Ragged Dick" series. It was Alger's bestselling book.
Story.
Ragged Dick is a poor bootblack (shoe shine boy) in New York City. He makes his life better by working hard and being honest. He opens a bank account and takes a frail boy named Fosdick into his little apartment. Fosdick teaches Dick to read, write, and do arithmetic. One day, Dick saves a rich man's child from drowning. He is rewarded with money and a clerk's job in the man's firm.