The Mail Carrier

In Short

Set in a rural river settlement, this nineteenth-century moral adventure follows Bob Owens, who, driven by jealousy of his neighbor David’s success as a mail carrier, steals a cache of money. His subsequent flight leads him onto a steamboat and into a desperate, lonely existence in the city. The narrative functions as a traditional cautionary tale, exploring the internal decay of a boy who chooses dishonesty over hard work. Its enduring relevance lies in its unsentimental portrayal of regret and the difficult, often unglamorous path toward personal accountability.

The Story

The narrative centers on the rivalry between Bob Owens and his neighbor, David, who earns his living by trapping and eventually securing a position as a mail carrier. Bob and his companion, Lester, are consumed by spite, viewing David’s success as a personal affront. Their resentment peaks when they attempt to rob a cabin occupied by Godfrey Evans and his son, Dan—a failed heist that leaves Bob and Lester humiliated. Soon after, Bob discovers that David has accumulated a significant sum of money, and in a moment of intense greed, he steals the funds.

Instead of enjoying his ill-gotten gains, Bob is immediately paralyzed by paranoia. Fearing discovery by the community and the law, he decides to flee the settlement, abandoning his home and family to seek a life on the plains. He stows away on a river steamer, the Sam Kendall, hoping to distance himself from his crime. On board, he encounters a boy named George, who is also running away, though for entirely different reasons involving a predatory uncle. Their journey is interrupted by catastrophe when the Sam Kendall catches fire. In the chaos, Bob witnesses the genuine courage of the boat’s crew, who prioritize saving others over their own survival—a stark contrast to his own self-serving nature.

Following the fire, Bob and George find themselves stranded and struggling to survive. Bob eventually reaches New Orleans, but his stolen wealth provides him no comfort. He lives in constant fear, haunted by the memory of the home he betrayed and the friend he left behind. He finds himself destitute, wandering the city and narrowly avoiding the very people he once looked down upon. Meanwhile, back at the settlement, the truth of the theft is partially obscured but deeply felt; David’s family struggles with their loss, while the shiftless Godfrey Evans is eventually pressured by a local leader into honest labor. The story concludes not with a grand redemption, but with the sobering reality of Bob’s isolation. He realizes too late that his flight from justice has only trapped him in a life of misery. His pride is shattered, his resources are depleted, and he remains a “miserable runaway,” disconnected from the community he once hoped to dominate.

How It Unfolds

The spark of resentment Bob Owens and his friend Lester fixate on the success of their neighbor, David, whose industrious nature earns him a steady income. They build a canoe and plot to match his achievements, but their jealousy curdles into a desire to sabotage him.

The theft Overcome by greed after discovering David’s cache of money, Bob steals the box and hides it, choosing to abandon his home rather than face the shame of his actions. This impulsive act marks the permanent rupture between his former life and his future as a fugitive.

The flight Bob boards the Sam Kendall, shifting from a boy of the woods to a nameless stowaway on the river. He meets George, a fellow runaway, and together they experience the sudden, violent destruction of the steamer by fire.

The crisis of character Amid the burning wreckage, Bob watches the boat’s crew risk their lives to save passengers, an experience that highlights his own lack of substance. He realizes that his desire for a grand adventure has only led him into a desperate struggle for basic survival.

The lonely end In the unfamiliar, cold streets of New Orleans, Bob finds that his stolen money brings no security or satisfaction. He lives in constant fear of discovery, eventually realizing that by running away, he has traded his place in the world for a hollow and friendless existence.

The People

Bob Owens is the story’s protagonist and primary antagonist. Driven by a volatile mix of pride and envy, he is a boy who mistakes ambition for self-importance. His journey is one of contraction: he starts with dreams of wealth and ends in the shrinking, lonely confines of his own guilt.

Lester, Bob’s companion, serves as an accomplice whose courage is easily broken. He acts as a mirror to Bob’s flaws, ultimately retreating from the consequences of their shared spite, which leaves Bob to bear the weight of his final decisions alone.

David represents the antithesis of Bob. His industry, patience, and success in the mail business highlight Bob’s moral failings. He is not merely a rival but a standard of integrity that Bob feels he can never reach.

Godfrey Evans is a shiftless, somewhat menacing figure whose own moral failures—including the theft of his son’s earnings—provide a dark reflection of the greed that consumes the boys. He is eventually tamed not by conscience, but by the firm, quiet authority of the local community’s leadership.

George, the boy Bob meets on the river, provides a complex parallel. While both are runaways, George’s flight is rooted in self-preservation against an abusive guardian. Through his interactions with George, Bob is forced to confront the difference between a victim of circumstance and a thief running from his own choices.

In Its Own Voice

“Lester could never cease grumbling because David had succeeded in his enterprise, in spite of all their efforts to defeat him, and Bob, who was full of dreams and glorious ideas, was continually talking about the fine things he would purchase when he became mail carrier and was earning three hundred and sixty dollars a year.”

(This passage establishes the petty, underlying jealousy that motivates the boys’ initial actions against their neighbor.)

“He was no coward—he had proved that to everybody’s satisfaction; he was simply inexperienced, and needed an example to stimulate him and show him what ought to be done.”

(The narrator offers this assessment of Bob during the steamer fire, highlighting the tension between his natural capacity for bravery and his lack of moral direction.)

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the corrosive nature of envy and the false promise of "getting ahead" through illicit means. It poses a difficult question: is courage merely the absence of fear, or is it the ability to act correctly when one’s own interests are at stake? The narrative argues that true worth is found in the steady, often unacknowledged labor of daily life, while the pursuit of status through shortcuts leads only to a profound, hollow isolation. It is a study of how a boy’s lack of moral internal structure can lead him to mistake the destruction of others for his own advancement, ultimately leaving him with nothing but the reality of his own choices.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic nineteenth-century moral fiction will find this a compelling, if occasionally stark, look at the transition from childhood to the weight of adulthood. The prose is direct and unadorned, reflecting the era’s commitment to didactic storytelling, though modern readers should be prepared for the period-specific dialect and the sometimes rigid, class-conscious attitudes of the characters. The book captures the frantic, breathless feeling of a young person on the run—the sudden shift from the comfort of a known home to the terrifying anonymity of a city—with surprising psychological accuracy.

The story does not shy away from the ugliness of its protagonist’s choices, and there is no easy redemption here; the ending is particularly sobering, lacking the tidy resolutions often found in similar juvenile literature of the time. It is an honest portrayal of the loneliness that follows a betrayal of one’s own community. While the pace reflects the leisurely storytelling style of its period, the internal tension of the protagonist keeps the reader engaged. It is best suited for those who enjoy stories that place the weight of personal accountability at the center of the adventure, offering a window into a past where the consequences of one's actions were seen as the most important lessons a young person could learn.