The Last Cruise of the Spitfire

by Edward Stratemeyer

THE

LAST CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE

OR

Luke Foster's Strange Voyage

BY

EDWARD STRATEMEYER

AUTHOR OF "UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA," "A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA"
"FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS," "RICHARD DARE'S VENTURE"
"REUBEN STONE'S DISCOVERY," "OLIVER BRIGHT'S SEARCH"
ETC., ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

BOSTON

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

Copyright, 1894,

By THE MERRIAM COMPANY.

Copyright, 1900, by Lee and Shepard.

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All Rights Reserved.

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The Last Cruise of the Spitfire.

Norwood Press

J. S. Cushing & Co. – Berwick & Smith

Norwood Mass. U.S.A.

My Wakening was a Rude One.Page 53.

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION.

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"The Last Cruise of the Spitfire" is the opening volume of the "Ship and Shore" Series, and tells of the things which happened to a boy who ran away from his guardian's home because he could no longer stand the cruel treatment received.

In this tale, in order to get close to the heart of the boy, the author has allowed Luke Foster to tell his own story in his own way. Luke has never before been to sea, and when he is carried off on the "Spitfire" his real experiences on the briny ocean, set up in juxtaposition to what he had imagined a life on the "rolling deep" to be, make reading which I trust every lad who has a "hankering" after a sailor's life may digest with profit. Luke concludes that a life on land is good enough for him, and I feel certain that a majority of our readers will agree with him.

Of Luke's overbearing cousin and his dishonest uncle much might be said which Luke leaves untold. The boy does this probably out of his natural good-heartedness. Yet the lives of the pair, and especially that of the father, well illustrate the old saying, that, sooner or later, every wrong-doer is bound to overreach himself and fall into the hands of justice.

Upon first appearing in print, "The Last Cruise of the Spitfire" was as well received as the stories in the "Bound to Succeed Series," which had preceded it; and once again the author begs to thank readers and critics for their continued kindness to him.

EDWARD STRATEMEYER.

Newark, N.J.,
May 1, 1899.

CONTENTS.

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	PAGE
CHAPTER I.
Myself and my Uncle	5
CHAPTER II.
An Unexpected Letter	15
CHAPTER III.
Somebody's Crime	23
CHAPTER IV.
An Unexpected Arrival	29
CHAPTER V.
An Appalling Prospect	39
CHAPTER VI.
A Turn of Fortune	45
CHAPTER VII.
On Board the Spitfire	56
CHAPTER VIII.
Phil Jones	64
CHAPTER IX.
Up Long Island Sound	69
CHAPTER X.
A Narrow Escape	75
CHAPTER XI.
Captain Hancock's Plot	81
CHAPTER XII.
The Storm	89
CHAPTER XIII.
A New Friend	99
CHAPTER XIV.
Some Plain Facts	107
CHAPTER XV.
Captain Hancock tries to make Terms	115
CHAPTER XVI.
An Important Discovery	121
CHAPTER XVII.
In a Tight Fix	130
CHAPTER XVIII.
I am put in Irons	137
CHAPTER XIX.
The Burning of the Spitfire	147
CHAPTER XX.
On the Raft	154
CHAPTER XXI.
Night on the Hasty	162
CHAPTER XXII.
A Terrible Loss	169
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Deep Blue Sea	175
CHAPTER XXIV.
Picked Up	182
CHAPTER XXV.
The Capture on the Ocean	190
CHAPTER XXVI.
On Land Once More	201
CHAPTER XXVII.
Mr. Felix Stillwell's Hope	214
CHAPTER XXVIII.
On the Cars	220
CHAPTER XXIX.
Back in New York	226
CHAPTER XXX.
An Unexpected Death	234
CHAPTER XXXI.
Conclusion	242