Kidnapped

Kidnapped

By: Robert L. Stevenson

This story is a narrative in which Mr. David Balfour of Shaws tells us his story of being kidnapped.

After traveling to his Uncle Ebenezer's house to receive his inheritance and Mr. Ebenezer trying to kill him on various occasions, eventually led to his uncle paying Captain Hoseason to kidnap David and take him to a far off land in Scotland to sell him as a slave.

Once on the Captain's ship the "Brig", after being knocked out cold and pulled down below, many painful and ill memories followed. First, the young boy that served as a host to the Captain and other sailors was killed by Mr. Shuan, one of the sailors, because the boy brought him a dirty pannikin. Mr. Shuan having a bad temper and also being drunk with spirits murdered the boy. Because of all this, they had David take the boy's place as server.

One day, a heavy fog came over them and they couldn't see anything, then all of the sudden they felt a heavy jolt, they found out that they had run down a boat and a strong man had climbed onto the hull of the brig just before it demolished the boat. That man was Sir Alan Breck Stewart, a French soldier, who was on his way to pay rent from a certain "clan" of people to James Stewart, their chief in exile.

Once they put Alan in the "round-house" he was talking to David about himself, and how David was a whigamore, loyal to King George, whereas Alan was a Jacobite, loyal to King Louis of France. They talked about this for some while when Alan asked "Davie" (as he put it) for a dram. So David went on deck to get the key from the Captain so he could get into the cupboard to get the dram. While on his way, he overheard the Captain talking to Mr. Shuan and Mr. Riach about "killing" this man Alan. The Captain called David over and told David that when he goes down to get the dram, that he should get the guns also and bring them out to the Captain and his men so that Alan wouldn't suspect anything.

David went inside the Round-House and talked to Alan, he said, "Do you want to be killed?" Alan jumped up, "What!"