About the Author: Percy F. Westerman was a prolific author of children literature, many of his books adventures with military and naval themes.Born in 1876, United KingdomDied: Feburary 22, 1959.Preview of the book:"...recoiling in masses of phosphorescent foam and at the same time sending clouds of spindrift flying across the lofty bridge. The Portchester Castle was forty-eight hours out from England, bound for patrol duties in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was by no means her first trip to that inland sea. In pre-war days, under a different name, she had been making regular pleasure trips under the auspices of a touring agency. It had been said that her skipper could find his way practically blindfold into any of the better-known Mediterranean ports, so long had he been on this particular service.But the outbreak of the Great War had changed all that. Taken over by the Admiralty, the former liner-yacht had been rapidly and efficaciously adapted to her new rôle. Her palatial cabin fittings had been ruthlessly scrapped. The dazzling white enamel had been hidden under a coat of neutral grey. Her bluff funnels were disguised with “wash” of the same dingy hue. Light armour protected her vital parts; quick-firing guns of hard-hitting power were mounted on the decks that previously had been given over to pleasure-seeking tourists. In short, the Portchester Castle was now a swift and formidable unit of the British Navy.Four years had made a marked difference in the appearance of Tom Webb, formerly Tenderfoot of the Sea Scouts’ yacht..."
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