The Captain's Bunk / A Story for Boys

A close-knit coastal community surrounds an elderly naval officer and his motherless children, whose idle days are filled with imaginative games that progress from pirate play and mock shipwrecks to an intense fascination with polar exploration. A quick-witted orphan boy becomes the boys' companion and co-conspirator as their private adventures evolve into riskier undertakings: on-board quarrels and a mutiny, hazardous voyages toward northern ice, peril at sea, arrest, and narrow escapes. The story follows how youthful daring, friendship, and consequence compel the characters to confront adversity, learn responsibility, and ultimately reevaluate home and duty.