Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 1014

Middy Ned, the Runaway by T. J. Flanagan is a maritime adventure serial set during the American Revolution. The narrative follows Edward Preble, a sixteen-year-old who abandons potato-digging on his father's Maine farm. Encountering a destitute widow in Falmouth, he gives her his last shilling. The widow proves to be the mother of Tom Turner, a boatswain aboard the armed schooner *Volunteer*. Grateful, Turner secures Ned's position as cabin boy. Unknown to Ned, the captain—the vindictive "Bill Brown"—intends the posting as revenge against Ned's father, the Brigadier. The vessel, a letter-of-marque privateer carrying cargo including leg irons, sails for France. Ned suffers severe seasickness during a three-day gale before recovering. The narrative establishes Ned's first maritime trials while hinting at mysteries regarding his captain's true identity and intentions.