Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 961

# The Young Monte Cristo by Lieutenant A. K. Sims

This adventure serial, copyrighted 1895, follows Aztec Al (Alfred Isett), a youth of mixed Mexican and American heritage, as he discovers his father imprisoned in the Mexican town of Carretas by the bandit Juan Romero and local authorities. When Al finds a wounded Romero on a mountain trail and discovers a letter revealing his father's jeopardy, he saves Romero's life—only to be captured and bound. Escaping with his bicycle while riding with Romero's men toward Carretas, Al flees down a treacherous mountain trail at high speed, pursued by mounted soldiers firing muskets. The chase culminates when his bicycle's brake fails, leaving him speeding uncontrollably toward an uncertain fate. The narrative combines action sequences—including Al shooting a runaway horse and a hand-to-hand struggle—with political turmoil in a region controlled by Mexican bandits.