A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1884 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

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A complete issue · 16 pages · 1884

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 383

1884 · Free to read

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About this issue

"The Pirate Lover" features Boyd Benedict, a young sailor disguised as an elderly man, attempting to reclaim his wife Clotilde from her father, Constable Clair, in San Augustine. When the constable confronts Benedict and threatens arrest for piracy, Benedict kills him with a knife. He then reveals himself to Clotilde—removing his wig and face paint—and proposes a treasure-hunting scheme. Benedict has rescued an old sailor called Old Mystery from a card-game dispute, who in return disclosed knowledge of buried pirate treasure from Morgan's lieutenant, wrecked on an island (possibly in the Florida Keys or Bahamas). The treasure, along with charts and island descriptions, was supposedly gathered and reburied. Benedict enlists Clotilde's help in recovering this wealth, though she remains unaware her father lies dead nearby. The adventure combines romantic melodrama with nautical action and buried-treasure plotting.

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