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The hero is 16 year-old Aleck, who is an orphan being brought up by his uncle. 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.