In the Belly of the Bloodhound

Infobox Book
name = In the Belly of the Bloodhound
translator =


image_caption =
author = Louis A. Meyer
illustrator =
cover_artist = Cliff Nielsen
country = United States of America
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Young Adult's, Historical novel
publisher = Harcourt Children's Books
release_date = October 1, 2006
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 528 pages
isbn = 9780152055578
preceded_by = Under the Jolly Roger
followed_by = Mississippi Jack

"In the Belly of the Bloodhound" is a historical novel written by L.A. Meyer surrounding the adventures of a young girl named Jacky Faber, alias Bloody Jack, set in the early 1800s. It is the fourth installment in the Bloody Jack series and follows the heroine as she returns on land from her adventures on the seas in the previous novel, "Under the Jolly Roger".

tory

This novel follows Jacky Faber upon her return to Boston. In her small ship, the "Morning Star", she sneaks into port past two British ships. When she is out of sight, she finds a young boy, Jim, to watch her ship for her. She goes into town to talk with her lawyer, Ezra Pickering. They decide it is best for Jacky to return to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls. The school is being rebuilt with bricks after a fire caused by a certain someone. The next day, Ezra, Jim, and Jacky take the "Morning Star" to Dovecote to see Amy. Jacky surprises her by bringing her lunch to her. She tells Amy her story and then the two of them join Ezra and Randall for lunch.

The months pass after that through Christmas. When school starts again, Jacky greets her old friends. Her old enemy, Clarissa, has brought a slave back with her, and Jacky is outraged. After about a month, Higgins comes to the school and becomes head of the serving staff.

Months go by, and classes too. One day, all the girls, except Amy, go on a trip to the shore. Jacky is surprised that Mistress Pimm does not come, and is even more surprised when she realizes that Higgins is not there either. The girls are then taken onto a ship and thrust down into the hold. They are soon told that the ship is called the "Bloodhound", and they are to be sold as slaves in Africa. All the girls are too scared to take charge, so Jacky becomes the leader of the group. She divides the girls into three groups and assigns a leader to each group. The three leaders are Jacky, Dolley, and Clarissa. They find a rat hole into a storage room, and make plans to widen it with Jacky's shiv to escape through.

There is a guard at the door to the girls' prison that the crew calls Dummy. Jacky soon finds out that he is actually Hugh the Grand, or Hughie, from the Rooster Charlie Gang on the streets of London.

After a week, someone rats Jacky out as the leader of the girls. Jacky then gets a lashing with the cat-o-nine tails.

Soon, the hole is big enough to escape through. The girls create a 100-second fuse to burn the ship when they escape. They all make it out the hole and make their escape in one of the lifeboats, with the help of Jacky's old friend, Hughie. Shortly after their escape onto the life boat, Hughie dies from an injury he received while protecting Jacky on the ship and Jacky falls ill from a wound on her leg.

Jacky wakes up on a Royal Navy Ship, the "HMS Juno", which is taking the girls back to Boston. Before they get to Boston, the "Juno" has to make a quick stop in New York, where they meet up with Henry Hoffman, the school's stable boy and fiancé of one of the girls. That girl rides back to Boston with Henry ahead of the others.

When word of the girls' rescue and survival comes, everyone is excited and prepares for their return. When the "Juno" gets there, parents and loved ones, including Jaimy, are waiting. The "Juno" docks and the girls step off. The last three to get off are Dolley, Clarissa, and Jacky. But before Jacky can step off, two marines stop her and tell her she is under arrest for piracy. And there the book ends.

External links

* [http://www.jackyfaber.com The author's website]