A Lost Hero

"A Lost Hero" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward is a book from the late 1800s that explores what it means to be a hero and to give everything for others. It shows how normal people can be incredibly brave when things get tough. The story takes place during an earthquake in South Carolina. A boy, Donny de Mone, is trying to meet his father when disaster strikes. He gets lost in the chaos and meets an older Black man. Even though the man is poor and on his way to see his sick daughter, he risks his life to put warnings on the train tracks and stop a train from crashing. He disappears afterward, leaving everyone to wonder about his identity and why heroes often go unnoticed.