Beadle's Pocket Library No. 287

Catalog Note *Ned, the Boy Skipper: The Sea Sorceress's Cruise* by Jack Farragut (serial installment) is a maritime adventure set during the War of 1812. An old beacon-tender has secretly been hired by Judge Elmore to light navigation beacons on the Maine coast to guide his naval officer son safely through a dangerous reef channel during an approaching storm. The tender harbors murderous intent: he seeks revenge against Judge Elmore and his son's bride, claiming Elmore seduced and abandoned his daughter, who drowned herself. Judge Elmore himself, now wealthy, is tormented by guilt over crimes in his past—he hired an assassin to murder his own brother to steal an inheritance. The beacon-tender plans to sabotage the lights, causing the approaching ship to wreck. The narrative intersperses gothic elements (the "Haunted Fort," references to a witch) with melodramatic psychology and period nautical detail concerning signals and reef passage.