The tone of this is reminiscent of Tim and the , as another youngster of colonial times stoutly proves his capabilities as a responsible individual. Denny, a boy in the shipbuilding town of Essex, Connecticut, during the Revolutionary War, is carving a small figurehead for his grandfather, a replica of the one the old man has just finished for a ship. But the joy of Denny's accomplishment is overshadowed by a British raid. Though it is disastrous, Denny's role in saving the ship figurehead and in predicting the activities of a spy, win him a new respect from his family.