The Phantom Hunter

# THE PHANTOM HUNTER; OR, LOVE AFTER DEATH

By Edwin Emerson, published by Beadle and Adams in 1871, this serial presents a frontier mystery in early Kentucky settlements. Russell Trafford, an orphaned young man engaged to Isabel Moreland, is convicted and executed for murdering his uncle, Doctor Trafford, by setting their cabin ablaze. Circumstantial evidence—Trafford found with a tinder-box at the burning house—and testimony from the doctor's servant boy, Mike Terry, condemn him despite his protestations of innocence. The execution is presided over by Kirby Kidd, an old ranger, and attended by a mysterious stranger named Nick Robbins with a bandaged eye who speaks privately with the executioner. After Russell's death, Isabel grieves deeply while Jim McCabe, a dissolute rival suitor, attempts to court her, prompting her rejection and retreat into her home.