Undercover - Steam Power - Book 5

Denny, Licia, Miguel and I had been kidnapped by a press gang and forced aboard His Majesty's Ship Curious, a 20 gun sailing frigate. (Book 4 Undercover Curiousers).

When the ship ran aground, we escaped, but, in 1778, the British Royal Navy hung deserters.

The only way we could avoid this fate was to find work in the copper and tin mines at the far south west of England. These mines were essential to the war against the French navy and employees were exempt from military service.

On the way west, we fought off some highway men and joined up with the famous British engineer James Watt. He was heading for one of the mines to repair a steam engines used to prevent the mine from flooding.

Our carriage driver got lost along the way and we discovered that the locals were suspicious of all foreigners and not at all helpful.

While Denny was helping Mr Watt to repair his steam engine at the Ting Tang mine, Licia, Miguel and I found out that the local mechanic had been sabotaging the engine. The local coal merchants feared the loss of sales (because Mr Watt's engine was more efficient) and were paying him to make the engine burn more coal.

We tricked the saboteurs to prevent them damaging the engine and Mr Watt successfully demonstrated that the engine rapidly lowered the water level in the mine and, as a by-product, supplied more water to drive the waterwheel and trip hammers used to process the tin ore.

Dr Zhang found us and we returned to Plymouth narrowly avoiding a troop of red-coats searching for highway men and . . . deserters.

Back in Ottawa we discovered someone had destroyed Oppy's software and were trying to bomb the electric bookcase.