Beadle's Pocket Library No. 72

# The Lion of the Sea; or, The Veiled Lady of San Tropez

By Albert W. Aiken

This serialized adventure tale is set in 1653 among Algerian pirates and Mediterranean waters. A small, shabby lugger carrying a veiled English lady and a suspicious crew departs the French coast bound for Africa. The skipper, a commanding Englishman, and his helmsman are transporting the melancholy lady—who knows neither her destination nor its purpose—under mysterious circumstances. When a strange vessel bearing the flag of the "Lion of the Sea" (a white lion's head on black) intercepts them, the crew panics. The fearsome pirate captain boards their craft wearing an actual lion's head as a disguise and immediately detects the lady's absence below deck, demonstrating uncanny knowledge. Speaking fluent English despite his pirate reputation, he interrogates the skipper, revealing connections between the skipper and the pirate captain's past.