'gainst the Might of Spain

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Set against the looming threat of the Spanish Armada, this swashbuckling coming-of-age adventure follows Ralph Roy, son of a famed English pilot whose life has already been scarred by Spanish treachery, perilous voyages, and a hard-won silver mine in Mexico. Ralph grows up in the shadow of his father's secrecy and his mother's anxiety, until a stormy midnight summons sends the pilot aboard a mysterious ship that vanishes by morning, leaving the family to grief and uncertainty. In Portsmouth, Ralph begins life as a mariner's apprentice amid harbor politics, coastal defenses, and a fierce hatred of Spain shared with his friend Jack Staynton. When the captured pirate pinnace Damsel of Lyme becomes the object of local dispute, Ralph meets the charismatic Captain Hannibal Cleat, whose vivid seafaring tales and hard-edged honor promise adventure. Cleat secures Ralph as an apprentice, and soon father and son are drawn into a brutal struggle with the Inquisition, fighting their way out through disguise, hidden passages, and a desperate flight to the sea. There, aboard the refitted Damsel of Lyme, they make a daring escape under fire, racing past cannon and musket shot toward freedom and the uncertain future that awaits them.