Flanagan

A Short Filibustering Adventure

By: Stephen Crane

Narrated by: Deaver Brown

"Flanagan" is a story not dissimilar from "The Open Boat", except that the captain dies in "Flanagan" but not in the "Open Boat". Flanagan is hired to take a ship, aptly named the Foundling, down to Cuba to run guns and people into that country. He does so in a rickety old boat and does a good job. A gun boat finds them and barrels at them at top speed. Rather than just running, the natural instinct, Flanagan turns his ship towards the small gun boat, an unexpected chess move, and runs down the surprised small gun boat and sinks her.

Afterward, his men make sure to gun down the survivors in their life boats to assure no followup. After this great victory, Flanagan sees a storm whirling up in the distance. It comes upon him and is about to destroy his ship, even after they try heading as far towards the Florida coast as possible. They can't make it and so abandon ship. This is during a great party on shore, at which people, upon hearing of the shipwreck, come down to the shore to gawk. "Later there floated to them a body with a calm Irish face (presumably Flanagan). The expedition of the Foundling will never be historic." The story ends in a dull thud, exhibiting the classic irony of a Crane short story.

Every bit as interesting as "The Open Boat", this is a companion piece with somewhat similar results. As with all Simply audio books, we provide a commentary in an afterword for those interested.

Public Domain (P)2011 Christina Brown