--- title: "A Tale of the Tow-Path by Homer Greene — Classic Ebook | Publica Now" description: "Read a free sample of A Tale of the Tow-Path by Homer Greene at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online." canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/a-tale-of-the-tow-path" --- Literary # A Tale of the Tow-Path by Homer Greene [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $2.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Fa-tale-of-the-tow-path) Secure payment on Stripe. publica.now never sees your card. Share Link copied Format epub Published May 03, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![A Tale of the Tow-Path](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqp29h54ge9w05q5n9tshe93/editions/2026-09-06-html-v1/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20261020%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261020T160119Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=d0e34067643381729b32ab29c71bf0f4d863ade03cf1e14e32795d26846e2ac0) ## About this work Fourteen-year-old Joe Gaston longs for fishing, freedom, and a little companionship—but life on his father’s farm seems to offer only work. After a quarrel, Joe leaves home, unaware that a thief has taken Old Charlie, the gray horse he has loved since childhood. As the missing horse and the missing boy become linked in the minds of those at home, Joe’s wandering takes him to the canal at Rondout, where hunger and hardship drive him into the exhausting service of a canal boat. On the dark, rain-soaked tow-path, Joe struggles under Captain Bill’s harsh treatment while memories of home grow ever stronger. Homer Greene’s vivid tale follows a runaway boy, a stolen horse, and the difficult road toward truth, responsibility, and homecoming. This Publica.now Classics edition includes a new typographic cover and publisher opening and closing pages. Sample ## Take a look inside “Where’d you get that horse?” A Tale of the Tow-Path By Homer Greene NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL CO. PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1892, By Perry Mason & Co. Copyright, 1892, By T. Y. Crowell & Co. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. The Result of a Whipping 1 II. Who Took Old Charlie? 19 III. On The Canal 37 IV. Captain Bill Buys a Horse 56 V. Homeward Bound 74 VI. Old Charlie Brings Back Joe 92 A TALE OF THE TOW-PATH. CHAPTER I. THE RESULT OF A WHIPPING. Hoeing corn is not very hard work for one who is accustomed to it, but the circumstances of the hoeing may make the task an exceedingly laborious one. They did so in Joe Gaston’s case. Joe Gaston thought he had never in his life before been put to such hard and disagreeable work. In the first place, the ground had been broken up only that spring, and it was very rough and stony. Next, the field was on a western slope, and the rays of the afternoon sun shone squarely on it. It was an unusually oppressive day, too, for the last of June. Finally, and chiefly: Joe was a fourteen-year-old boy, fond of sport and of companionship, and he was working there alone. Leaning heavily on the handle of his hoe, Joe gazed pensively away to the west. At the foot of the slope lay a small lake, its unruffled surface reflecting with startling distinctness the foliage that lined its shores, and the two white clouds that hung above in the blue sky. Through a rift in the hills could be seen, far away, the line of purple mountains that lay beyond the west shore of the Hudson River. “It aint fair!” said Joe, talking aloud to himself, as he sometimes did. “I… [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Fa-tale-of-the-tow-path) The sample continues in the full work. [ #Horses -- Juvenile fiction ](/search?query=Horses+--+Juvenile+fiction) [ #Runaway teenagers -- Juvenile fiction ](/search?query=Runaway+teenagers+--+Juvenile+fiction) [ #Towpaths -- Juvenile fiction ](/search?query=Towpaths+--+Juvenile+fiction) [ #horse juvenile fiction ](/search?query=horse+juvenile+fiction) [ #runaway teenagers juvenile fiction ](/search?query=runaway+teenagers+juvenile+fiction) [ #towpaths juvenile fiction ](/search?query=towpaths+juvenile+fiction) [ #canal life ](/search?query=canal+life) [ #boy's adventure ](/search?query=boy%27s+adventure) [ #childhood struggles ](/search?query=childhood+struggles) [ #family dynamics ](/search?query=family+dynamics) [ #rural life ](/search?query=rural+life) [ #theft and redemption ](/search?query=theft+and+redemption) ## Reviews No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. [Sign in to leave a review](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcreators%2Fvito%2Fworks%2Fa-tale-of-the-tow-path) No reviews yet. 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