The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Middy, by George Manville Fenn

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Lost Middy
Being the Secret of the Smugglers' Gap

Author: George Manville Fenn

Illustrator: Stanley L. Wood

Release Date: May 4, 2007 [EBook #21318]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST MIDDY ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

The Lost Middy, being the Secret of the Smugglers' Gap, by George
Manville Fenn.

________________________________________________________________________

This is yet another tension-packed teenagers' novel from the pen of G.
Manville Fenn. The hero is a sixteen-year-old called Aleck, who is an
orphan being brought up by his uncle, whose main interest in life is
writing a book of history. They live by the sea, and Aleck's great
pleasure is to take his little sailing boat along the coast, often in
the company of a pensioned-off man-o'-war's man, called Tom Bodger.
They get involved with a press-gang raid by one of HM sloops, which is
accompanied by a revenue cutter. Some of the men of the neighbouring
hamlets are taken by the press-gang, but a middy from the sloop is also
taken by the local smugglers, and hidden in the very cave where they
normally hide their spoils.

Unfortunately Aleck also stumbles on the track of the smugglers, and
gets shut up in the same cave. Both entrances of the cave are blocked
up. There is no possible escape. NH

________________________________________________________________________

THE LOST MIDDY, OR THE SECRET OF THE SMUGGLERS' GAP, BY GEORGE MANVILLE
FENN.

CHAPTER ONE.

There was a loud rattling noise, as if money was being shaken up in a
box. A loud crashing bang, as if someone had banged the box down on a
table. A rap, as if a knife had been dropped. Then somebody, in a
petulant voice full of vexation and irritability, roared out:

"Bother!"

And that's exactly how it was, leaving Aleck Donne, who looked about
sixteen or seventeen, scratching vigorously at his crisp hair as he sat
back, with his elbows resting upon those of the big wooden arm-chair,
staring at the money-box before him.

"I ca