Two Gallant Sons of Devon: A Tale of the Days of Queen Bess

In Short

Written as an Elizabethan adventure for young readers, this novel follows two Devon youths whose leisure sail turns into an accidental voyage across the globe. After being swept away by a gale, press-ganged onto an English privateer, and abandoned in the New World, the pair battle Spanish ships, navigate uncharted South American rivers, and fall captive to indigenous tribes. By exploiting native prophecies of a returning Inca, they win vast riches before returning home as landed gentlemen. The book endures as a classical example of early twentieth-century British imperial fiction, rich in nautical detail and period swagger.

The Story

The tale opens in June 1577 in Devonport, where two spirited young friends, Phil Stukely and Dick Chichester, take a borrowed lugger out for an evening sail. A sudden, violent squall swamps their craft and leaves them at the mercy of the sea. Picked up by the Adventure, an outbound English privateer commanded by Captain Marshall, the lads are refused a passage back to shore. Instead, they are incorporated into the ship's crew as lieutenants and swept directly into the maritime war against Spain.

Off the coast of the New World, the privateer engages in high-seas commerce raiding, seizing Spanish prizes and eventually setting its sights on a treasure-laden plate ship near Cartagena. Phil and Dick take part in daring amphibious assaults, night reconnoitring, and explosive sabotage against Spanish coastal batteries. However, during the chaotic aftermath of these actions, the two youths become separated from Captain Marshall and their shipmates, left to fend for themselves in an unfamiliar and hostile continent.

Enduring injuries and hunted by Spanish authorities, the boys hide inside the local Inquisition building itself, eventually overpowering a local armourer to supply themselves with swords, matchlocks, and survival gear. Fleeing deep into the South American interior along the Magdalena and Marañón rivers, they embark on an arduous inland wilderness journey. Their trek is marked by perilous encounters, including battling a monstrous cavern-dwelling serpent and negotiating treacherous white-water rapids.

Eventually, Phil and Dick are captured by the Mayubuna, a native tribe aggrieved by past English violence. Sentenced to run a deadly gauntlet of club-wielding warriors, the boys manage to fight their way through, only to face further captivity. Their fortunes shift dramatically when Phil, possessing an inexplicable, instinctive grasp of the native tongue, inadvertently utters ancient words of power. The local priests declare him to be the long-prophesied reincarnation of Manco Capac, the first Inca, returned from across the ocean to liberate his people from Spanish tyranny.

Embracing this divine status to ensure their survival, Phil and Dick gain the total submission of the native populace. Phil uses his authority to persuade the tribe to reveal secret mountain hoards of gold, silver, and precious jewels. Claiming that he must convey these treasures to his northern homeland to prepare the ultimate blow against Spain, the pair successfully transport the immense fortune out of South America. Returning triumphant to England as wealthy men, they purchase expansive country estates in Devon, their wild days of privateering traded for the status of landed gentlemen.

How It Unfolds

Swept out to sea A casual evening sail off Devonport turns catastrophic when a sudden gale sinks Phil and Dick's borrowed boat. They are rescued by the privateer Adventure, whose captain promptly drafts them into his crew rather than turning back.

Raiding the Spanish Main The boys learn the trade of naval warfare as the privateer captures Spanish vessels in the West Indies. Phil and Dick help plan a hazardous night reconnaissance of Cartagena, disabling shore batteries with quick-match explosives.

Trapped behind enemy lines Separated from their ship, the wounded youths take refuge within the very walls of the Spanish Inquisition. Dressed as monks, they ambush an armourer, secure heavy weaponry, and slip out of the city under cover of darkness.

Navigating the wilderness Heading up the Magdalena River by canoe, the friends adapt to a wild, free-spirited life in the jungle. They hunt game, survive treacherous river forks, and slay a giant serpent lurking inside a subterranean cavern.

Running the gauntlet Captured by an indigenous tribe seeking vengeance for past casualties, the boys are forced to run between two lines of club-wielding warriors. Using their skill at quarter-staff play, they beat back their attackers and survive the brutal trial.

The Inca reincarnated Facing death or lifelong enslavement, Phil unwittingly speaks sacred words that match an ancient prophecy. The tribal priests instantly bow to him, believing Phil is Manco Capac returned to lead the Peruvians against the Spanish.

Claiming the treasure Phil uses his sacred status to locate vast underground vaults of ancestral gold and jewels. Convincing the tribe that the treasure must be shipped overseas to defeat Spain, the duo escape with the fortune and return home to purchase Devon estates.

The People

• Philip "Phil" Stukely: A bold, resourceful young Devon sailor who adapts rapidly to every disaster. Highly capable with a blade, he possesses an unexplainable, almost mystical affinity for the Peruvian language and lore. What begins as a fight for basic survival ends with Phil playing the part of a living god to secure unimaginable wealth.
• Richard "Dick" Chichester: Phil's loyal companion and fellow privateer lieutenant. Practical, cheerful, and an expert in physical combat, Dick serves as the pragmatic counterweight to Phil's strange intuition. He remains steadfastly devoted to his friend, whether nursing him through fever, fighting off giant snakes, or escaping native captivity.
• Captain Marshall: The stern, ambitious commander of the privateer Adventure. Focused entirely on plundering Spanish treasure ships for his financial partners, his refusal to turn back to shore initially forces the boys into their global journey.
• Vilcamapata: An ex-priest of the Peruvians whom the boys assist along the river. Devoted to Phil with a reverent intensity, he introduces the youths to native lore, the sacred rock sculptures of Amalivaca, and the legend of the returning Inca.
• Master Bascomb: The plain-spoken Devonshire master of the Adventure, whose fierce anti-Spanish rhetoric and fierce loyalty to his crew drive the ship's aggressive tactics along the Spanish Main.

In Its Own Voice

"She's a Spaniard, to my thinking, Cap'n; and there may be fine pickings aboard of her--if her don't turn and run so soon's she sees us."

The ship's crew identifies an incoming target off the West Indian islands, slipping easily into local dialect as the excitement of a potential raid takes hold.

"Ye shall start from where ye now stand, and shall run to the farther end of the lane of people; and as ye run each man on either hand shall smite ye as often as he may with his club."

The tribal chieftain delivers a grim ultimatum to the captured Englishmen, outlining the brutal trial by combat they must endure to earn a quick death instead of torture.

"I rapped out certain words that flashed into my mind, of which I knew not the meaning, but which I somehow seemed to understand were words of power."

Phil explains to Dick how an inexplicable impulse saved their lives, convincing the native priests that an English sailor was actually their ancient ruler returned to life.

What It's Really About

Beneath its surface of sea fights and jungle survival, the novel is an explicit celebration of Elizabethan maritime expansion and British imperial pluck. It framed the struggle against the Spanish Empire not merely as a war of geopolitical strategy, but as a righteous crusade for trade, religious freedom, and national survival.

The story also flirts with ideas of ancestral memory and hereditary destiny. Phil’s effortless mastery of the Peruvian tongue and his instinctual knowledge of Inca ritual suggest a mystical connection that bridges distant cultures. At its core, however, the book is about youthful adaptability—the capacity of young men to move seamlessly from quiet village life to high-seas piracy, wilderness survival, and political deception without losing their native resolve.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal directly to enthusiasts of classic nautical fiction, historical adventure, and late-Victorian juvenile literature in the vein of G.A. Henty or Robert Michael Ballantyne. Reading it feels like stepping into a classic boys' adventure magazine from the early 1900s: the narrative moves at a brisk pace, filled with black-powder explosions, sword fights, hidden river caves, and high-stakes bluffs.

Modern readers should be prepared for the literary conventions of its period. The prose leans heavily on archaisms ("Cap'n," "baint," "murrain"), and the shipboard scenes feature rendered Devonshire dialect. Furthermore, the plot relies on imperialist tropes that were standard for 1912 adventure fiction, particularly the trope of white protagonists effortlessly deceiving indigenous populations by exploiting their religious beliefs.

For those interested in historical genre fiction, the book offers an energetic, unvarnished look at how late-Victorian and Edwardian writers framed the Elizabethan era for young audiences—transforming historical privateering into a grand, romantic game of fortune and courage.