The Alden, W. L. (William Livingston) 1837-1908 creator Small, F. O. (Frank O.) 1860-1915 text utu 2025 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats "The loss of the Swansea: A story of the Florida coast" by W. L. Alden is a seafaring adventure novel for young readers written in the late 19th century. It follows Bristol brothers Jack and Tom, cast onto the Florida coast after a mutiny on the brig Swansea, as they face pirates, wild country, secret caves, and the lure of hidden treasure alongside a weathered ex-pirate ally. The opening of the story finds the orphaned brothers bound for America on the Swansea, where the drink-weakened Captain Fearing is overthrown by his mate, John March. Set adrift with the captain, the boys reach a Florida inlet, discover an abandoned pirate fort and a glittering cave, and endure a night of rattlesnakes and panthers. When another pirate gang appears and murders Fearing, the boys flee into the cave, are swept by an underground river to a hidden pool, and meet Bill Catchley, a marooned former pirate. With Bill’s help they blast open Blackbeard’s iron gate, wander a labyrinth, and narrowly find daylight again. They then slip upriver, steal back a boat, and push into the Everglades, where Bill reveals a long-buried treasure he once nearly unearthed. As they begin to dig at the marked spot, six armed Indians emerge and seize them. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Release date is 2025-07-20 Richard Hulse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) Originally published: Boston: D. Lothrop Company, 1889 Orphans -- Juvenile fiction Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction Teenage boys -- Juvenile fiction Pirates -- Juvenile fiction Sailing -- Juvenile fiction Brothers -- Juvenile fiction Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction Seafaring life -- Juvenile fiction Caves -- Juvenile fiction Mutiny -- Juvenile fiction Youth -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction Prisoners -- Juvenile fiction Everglades (Fla.) -- Juvenile fiction PZ Boston: D. Lothrop Company, 1889 https://archive.org/details/lossofswanseasto00alde https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76536 https://archive.org/details/lossofswanseasto00alde https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76536 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134754.0 76536