The Banks of the Sacramento by Jack London. Short summary

5 seconds

The old sailor goes away on business, leaving his 14-year-old son Jerry in his place. When the teenager tries to carry the couple across the chasm over the river in a wagon, the mechanism breaks down.

1 minute

The son of an old sailor, 14-year-old Little Jerry goes to the port of Frisco. He has never seen the sea before. The hero’s father made his living transporting people across the chasm over the river in wagons. After the boy’s grandfather died, his father went to San Francisco to talk to a lawyer. He left his son in charge.

At this time, strong winds and heavy rain begin to fall. The Spillen farmers ask that they be moved urgently to the other side, as Mrs. Spillen’s father is crushed in a mine. The farmers are afraid they will not make it to the dying man in time. Little Jerry promises to help them.

The teenager starts the mechanism, and the couple begin the crossing. Their wagon gets stuck in the middle of the way and hangs over the precipice. Jerry tries to find the breakage. The heroes realize that the cause of the breakdown is another, empty wagon. The boy takes his tools with him, gets to the wagon and finds the problem. Jerry saves the couple from death and stays alive himself.