Beadle's New Dime Novels: The Blue Clipper

This is a catalog entry for The Blue Clipper by Roger Starbuck, a dime novel published by Beadle and Company in 1870. The narrative follows naval and smuggling operations in the Gulf of Mexico near Vera Cruz. A mysterious masked agent named Wilkins meets with Captain Malo in a hidden cavern headquarters to collect payment for intelligence work and discuss recruiting a young man named Harry Wand to join their smuggling operation. The story intercuts with scenes of revenue cutter crews, including young Midshipman Harry Wand serving aboard the cutter Roland under Captain Watson. Harry is romantically engaged to Mary Clare, a New York merchant's daughter, but his disappointment over delayed naval promotion has made him moody and susceptible to the smugglers' recruitment efforts. The narrative establishes tension between Harry's legitimate naval service and the criminal temptation being placed before him. The text appears incomplete at the natural breaking point in Chapter II.