English

About the Book

Arthur Drake, a teenage gang leader in London, crosses the line and has to flee England. Shanghaied, he spends over two years aboard ship on the Downey Cruiser. Art and four friends escape into California and end up in the gold fields in 1848. Being some of the first, they strike it rich. The captain of the Downey Cruiser recaptures Big Mac and Arthur in Sacramento. They are taken back to England, in irons, to be hanged. Mabel and friends sail aboard a fast clipper ship, arrive ahead of them, and help them escape the noose. In their absence, things in California have gotten worse. Murder and thievery plague the mining camps. Art is seriously wounded as they try to bring law and order to the area.

About the Author

Bruce Drake was born is the heart of Michigan, where he grew up on a farm without electricity, telephone, or inside plumbing. While attending a one-room schoolhouse, his imagination began to develop. Also, his mother was a great storyteller. Bruce married a classmate after a hitch in the army. They had three daughters. As a family, they traveled to many of the places he writes about. He still lives in mid-Michigan with his wife. He enjoys fishing, traveling, and writing his stories.