Beadle's Pocket Library No. 56

# Catalog Description

The Texan Ranger; or, The Queen of the Prairie by W. J. Hamilton opens a frontier adventure serial in this 1885 Beadle and Adams weekly. The narrative introduces Mabel Dunham, a beautiful young woman whose family has recently settled on the Colorado River in Texas. Her father, Arthur Dunham—a mysterious newcomer harboring hidden sorrows—has begun developing a substantial ranch and stock operation. Mabel attracts considerable admiration from local settlers and Rangers, including the rough but honorable Jack Fenway, while the dark-tempered Dick Dempsey nurses resentment at her indifference.

When Ranger Jack and his band pass through searching for a horse thief, Mabel serves them refreshment and briefly charms the company. Later, riding across the prairie, her horse halts in terror before a hanged man displayed as frontier justice—a horse thief executed by the Rangers. Fleeing in panic, she becomes lost in unfamiliar chaparral terrain far from home. As darkness approaches and she attempts to retrace her path, a painted Comanche warrior suddenly emerges from mesquite thickets and seizes her horse's bridle, threatening captivity.