Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 66

The Specter Barque: A Tale of the Pacific

By Captain Mayne Reid, published April 23, 1879 in Beadle & Adams' dime novel series. This maritime mystery opens with an American frigate pursuing a Chilian polacca-masted barque displaying a reversed ensign—a distress signal—yet fleeing from rescue across the Pacific. Reports from other vessels describe the barque crewed by men covered entirely in red hair and skin-dresses. When a sudden calm traps both ships, the frigate's commander orders a boarding crew. A third lieutenant eagerly accepts command of the cutter despite the sailors' superstitious fears that the barque is phantom or supernatural. A young midshipman requests to join them, concealing unnamed personal motivations beyond seeking glory. The narrative establishes an atmosphere of maritime dread as the boarding party prepares to investigate this impossible vessel.