Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 242

# The Fog Devil; or, The Skipper of the Flash

This serial by Captain Fred Whittaker depicts life among Gloucester trawlermen in spring 187-. Young Ned Norwood, a Harvard-educated fisherman brought low by his father's financial ruin and suicide, boards the schooner Flash under Captain Samson Darke. Norwood secretly loves Alice Mason, daughter of Judge Mason, who disapproves of the impoverished young man and favors the wealthy Captain Darke instead. Before departure, Norwood and Alice share an emotional farewell, with Norwood promising to claim her openly upon his return. Darke, who has also courted Alice, witnesses their parting and threatens future confrontation with Norwood. The narrative follows the Flash—a well-appointed Gloucester trawler equipped with dories and hawser for fishing the Banks—as it prepares to depart under Darke's command, with Norwood serving as crew.