Beadle's Dime Novels No. 218: The Indian Spy

About this issue

This issue contains two distinct works: "The Indian Spy; or, The Unknown Foe," a frontier romance by Jos. E. Badger Jr., set in early Kentucky, and "Dime Speakers Series, No. 15," an anthology of recitation pieces for schools and parlor entertainment. The Indian Spy's opening chapters depict Joe Curd, a young man arriving at the "Cross Oak" landmark to meet Ezra Duff, a rough frontiersman sent by Colonel Nunan. Through signal exchanges and password verification, they confirm identities and discuss Curd's commission: he will serve as a spy on the settlement of Graingerville, securing its gates for a nocturnal attack by Nunan's force. The narrative includes frontier dialect and abruptly concludes as a rifle shot barely misses Curd after Duff tackles him. The Speakers collection lists numerous short comic and elocutionary pieces featuring dialect humor and sentimental narratives.