King o' the Beach, A Tropic Tale

This book was written just before the end of the century, when it would have been expected that travel by steamer was pretty safe. Carey, a teenage boy making his way by steamer "Chusan" to meet his parents in Australia, becomes very friendly with the ship's doctor, and also with one of the seamen, Bob Bostock. But somewhere out in the Indian Ocean he has an accident, falling from the ship's rigging, and is unconscious and possibly may not live. His telescope took the brunt of the fall. But while he is lying unconscious, a great gale springs up, the vessel loses power, and is driven onto a coral-girt volcanic island. Some of the passengers and crew get away on the ship's boats, but Carey is not fit for the journey. The ship lies on the reef, but mostly undamaged. The Doctor and Bostock remain with him. After they are settling in, and Carey is recovering well, a "beachcomber", who reckons he is king of these islands, makes his appearance with a retinue of aborigines. He is quite a nasty piece of work. However one of the aborigines becomes friendly with Carey and the others. The beachcomber shoots the doctor, but then fall down a stairway, breaking both legs. Since he can't get the doctor, he dies. At this moment Carey's father appears, as the other passengers had reached Australia, and contact had been made. According to Wikipedia: "George Manville Fenn (January 3, 1831, Pimlico - August 26, 1909, Isleworth) was a British writer. He worked as a teacher in Lincolnshire, until he became printer, editor and publisher of various magazines. He had eight children with his wife Susanna Leake, whom he had married in 1855. Most of his work consists of adventure stories for young readers, featuring Explorers, Smugglers, young Adventurers and Seamen. His adult novels offer critical social commentary on Victorian England, especially reconsidering economic questions."