Beadle's Pocket Library No. 221

# Merle, the Middy: A Waif of the Waves

This serialized romance by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham follows Merle, the half-American, half-Persian son of the buccaneer Freelance and Persian princess Zulah. After years at sea and as a fearsome avenger known as Montezuma the Merciless, he has married the American woman Mildred and claimed the Persian throne. When his jealous cousin Prince Kaluta plots to usurp power and claim Mildred for his harem, Montezuma and his pregnant wife flee aboard his yacht, the Nemesis, with his loyal Abyssinian slave Mezrak.

Prince Kaluta pursues in an armed cruiser. During a desperate sea battle amid rising storm, Mildred gives birth to their son while cannon fire rages above deck. Montezuma defends his small, multinational crew against overwhelming odds, determined to reach America despite his wife's failing health and the superior firepower of his pursuer's vessel.