The Civil War is well under way, and Captain Passford and his son Christy are busy preparing their steamer-yacht the Bellevite for service in the U.S. navy. Now that the ship is almost ready for commission, Christy's cousin Cornelius mysteriously shows up at the Passford estate on the Hudson River. Unknown to the Passfords, Cornelius is part of a plot to capture the Bellevite for the South. With his uncle away on business, Cornelius and his conspirators ready their band of rough-and-tumble river pirates. How Christy gets wind of the plot is a hair-raising story all its own. But can he and his small group of compatriots defend the Bellevite? With barely a sailor among them, a quick escape around the dangerous river bends is out of the question. Then, in the darkest hours of the night . . .

"'Fire! ' shouted Christy . . .

It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the hills as though they were armed with heavy guns and were taking part in the conflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of the houses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship.

The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and though Christy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he could see nothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at once. But the young commander watched . . ."

Thus begins the first of many adventures that take the Bellevite on an exciting journey down the coast. An imaginative storyteller, Oliver Optic combines fiction and history to give children a personal as well as a historical picture of the Civil War that broadens their horizons with every fresh page.

Known and loved by our great-grandparents, Oliver Optic (William Taylor Adams, 1822-97) wrote 125 books and over a thousand stories for children. Among the best of his stories is The Blue and the Gray Series about the Civil War. Within the Enemy's Lines, first published in 1889, is the second book in the series of six.

BONUS! This book includes a Build-Your-Vocabulary Glossary for quick look-up of words children may not know. Includes two new maps created specially for this edition.

By Oliver Optic

SRP $14.95

Fiction/Youth/Historical Fiction

ISBN 1-890623-09-1

Softcover

353 pages

Ages 10 and up

Illustrated

Includes 2 New Map Illustrations

Glossary

1090L