Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 443

# "The Sign of the Crimson Crescent" by Ed. L. Wheeler

This installment features Dick Bristol, a seventeen-year-old fugitive fleeing across the Nebraska plains on horseback while carrying his dying mother. Pursued by armed men, Dick seeks safety in the valleys beyond the hills. His mother, Mrs. Bristol, reveals crucial family history: Dick's true father is Byron Bristol, not the abusive Budd Bristol who has raised him. Years ago, Byron became an alcoholic—deliberately corrupted by his brother Budd—and eventually fled after being falsely implicated in a murder. Mrs. Bristol married Budd out of obligation but endured twelve years of abuse. Stabbed by Budd before fleeing, she is now dying from internal bleeding. She informs Dick that he stands to inherit substantial property (a Nebraska ranch that has tripled and quadrupled in value through town development and railroad survey) and that Byron may still be alive in Nevada. She bequeaths him documents and deeds before her death overtakes her mid-revelation.