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.