Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

David Balfour, a lad of seventeen and newly orphaned, is directed to go and live with his rich uncle, the master of the estate of Shaws in the lowlands of Scotland near Edinburgh. His uncle, Ebenezer, a true miser, doesn’t want him to discover that David is the rightful heir to the estate. After a failed attempt to get rid of him by “accident”, Ebenezer pays the captain of a ship to kidnap the boy, with the plan to sell him into slavery in Carolina.

On the journey the ship collides with a smaller rig and the lone survivor Alan Breck a “rebel” Jacobite climbs on board. David hears of a plan by the crew to overpower Alan and seize the gold he carries, tries to warn him, and then finds himself fighting for his life alongside Alan. Thankfully, Alan is very good with a sword and helping themselves to the ship’s firearms locker the pair fight so valiantly that the captain has no choice but to agree to give them passage back to the mainland. As they near land the ship unfortunately runs aground, and David finds himself a castaway.

The lad soon revives and starts again to find his way home. Along the journey he stops to ask directions from a member of the party out with Colin Roy Campbell, the infamous “Red Fox” who has been oppressing Alan’s people, when the man is shot to death by a sniper, and David is chased as an accomplice. He chances to meet up with Breck while fleeing and two “take to the heather” and barely survive numerous near brushes with redcoats. Traveling across the length of Scotland, they come to the mouth of the River Forth. With no money remaining, they must somehow cross to Queensferry, find Ebenezer’s lawyer, and lay claim to David’s inheritance in order to send Alan safely on to France.

8 Hours and 7 Minutes.

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