Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 616

# "The Last Cruise of the Black Bear: A Romance of the Alaskan Seas and Coast" by George C. Jenks

This serial adventure opens with the whaling bark Americus trapped in Arctic ice off Alaska. Captain Clarence Wrench, nicknamed "The Black Bear" for his dark appearance and ruthless temperament, commands the rescue of a distressed yawl carrying two women adrift on the ice pack. Young passenger Robert Burleigh, a Harvard man and wealthy Bostonian traveling incognito, assists in the rescue alongside boatswain Silas Hawkins. The salvaged women—an elderly lady named Pauline Novritch and a young, beautiful girl named Marie—trigger unexpected recognition and rage in Captain Wrench. Pauline, recognizing him by name, shrieks "Murderer!" before fainting, suggesting a dark shared history. The captain's violent reaction hints at criminal secrets. The narrative continues as the rescued women board the Americus, with tensions mounting between Wrench and the mysterious Pauline.