Tom Ayrton

Intro Based on the Jules Verne character. A Scottish mariner, Tom served as quartermaster under Captain Harry Grant. Disputes with Grant led Tom to attempt a mutiny, the failure of which ended in his being expelled from the ship. Left behind alone in Australia, Tom teamed up with a band of escaped convicts. Tom began a life of crime around Australia, becoming a highwayman and notorious gang leader under the name of Ben Joyce. Tom eventually decided to turn to piracy. He unsuccessfully tried to commandeer a new ship owned by the Scottish Lord Glenarvan. Tom bargained for his fate, and Lord Glenarvan permitted him to be marooned on the desolate Tabor Island for an indefinite period so as to expiate for his crimes.