Halfhyde Goes to War

St. Vincent Halfhyde, merchant sea-captain and ex-Royal Navy officer, has been called back to the colors in the Boer War to guard a consignment of naval gunnery being sent to help General Buller lift the siege of Ladysmith. A shipment of gold bullion, to be used for bribing a key Boer commandant, is also on board. On the trail of the gold are ruthless Dutchmen and escaped British convicts; on Halfhyde's trail is Victoria Penn, his plucky young lover. She is kidnapped in Cape Town by the convicts and Halfhyde is captured in a train wreck by the Boers. After many complications the lovers are reunited aboard his square-rigged Glen Halladale, but the villains are in control of the ship. With help from the sea, loyal sailors and a faintly ridiculous Cape Town bureaucrat named Bewdley, Halfhyde prevails. Fans may wish for more naval action here, but at least they can be sure that as long as McCutchan writes there'll always be an Empire. (May 19)