What the captain did, in "Little Dorrit" (3)

I believe the answer is:

led

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'what the captain did' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'in little dorrit' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'LED' can be found hidden inside 'little dorrit'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for led that I've seen before include "Went in advance of others" , "sort of light" , "Light-emitting diode (abbr.)" , "Came first" , "Was guiding" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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