The Powder Monkey, by George Manville Fenn.
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This is a very short book, probably intended for a younger market than
most of Fenn's books. An old seaman finds a ragged and hungry young
boy, to whom he talks, finding out that the boy was being brought up by
an aunt and her brother. The uncle used to beat the boy too severely to
bear, and he had run away from home. The seaman, Jack Jeens, decides to
take charge of the boy, but both of them are taken by the press-gang,
and end up serving on HMS Victory. The boy, Phil Leigh, gets on well
with the other seamen, but is especially fond of Jack. At first he
doesn't get on well with the other ship's boys, but one day they are
chasing each other round the rigging, and one of the boys, Tom Dodds,
falls. Phil is made, as a punishment for causing the fall, to be Tom's
nurse, for Tom has broken his leg badly.
In the next scene we find ourselves in the midst of the Battle of
Trafalgar, and Phil's protector, Jack, is very badly wounded, so now
Phil has a second person to nurse.
In the final scene we are back in Portsmouth, where the Aunt appears,
and tells Phil that the Uncle has gone away, and that he should come
home. Phil is unwilling to leave Jack, but the Aunt promises to have
him come with them, and be nursed at her house, so that is where the
story is complete.
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