In peril on the sea

"In peril on the sea" by Montague T. Hainsselin is a naval novel written in the early 20th century. Set aboard a British light cruiser during wartime, it blends tense sea operations with espionage, rescue-at-sea suspense, and a sudden, fraught romance. The story centers on First Lieutenant Stapleton, Captain Blake, and the rescued Irish cousins Norah, Netta, and Patrick Sheridan, whose arrival brings hidden motives and moral conflict aboard.

At the start of the work, a playful preface announces a straightforward naval yarn before the tale opens on a fog-bound cruiser, the Marathon, slowing through danger and recovering a drifting boat with two young women, Norah and Netta, and their cousin Patrick. In the warm bustle of the wardroom, Captain Blake arranges to send them ashore by destroyer, while Stapleton is instantly drawn to Norah and privately declares himself. Shortly after, Netta collapses and, in panic, blurts out a detailed story of a bomb plot—dismissed by the ship’s doctor as delirium—while Patrick simultaneously urges Norah to plant a timed device; she hesitates and is interrupted as they are hurried off to the destroyer. At sea, Norah is racked with remorse and dread, unsure whether Patrick managed to hide the bomb, and back aboard the cruiser officers debate the plausibility of such a device, leaving the opening with a tightening question: is the Marathon already in peril?