Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 359

# The Golden Harpoon: Lost Among the Floes

This serialized whaling adventure by Roger Starbuck follows the whale-ship Montpelier of New London anchored off Kamschatka. Captain Howard disregards First Mate Briggs's warnings about drifting ice floes in these dangerous northern waters. When whales are spotted on the ice field, the captain orders four boats lowered. His seventeen-year-old niece Alice, aboard the vessel, watches crew member Harry Marline depart with romantic interest.

The narrative establishes a conspiracy plot: the eccentric sailor Jack Stump—physically distinctive with a long greased pigtail and mismatched proportions—warns Alice that four New Zealanders and the Portuguese steward are plotting harm. He reveals they may attempt to free Tom Lark, a mutineer imprisoned in the brig for refusing duty. With most officers and crew absent in the whale boats and ice conditions preventing immediate action, Stump pledges to investigate while Alice secures herself below deck.