Beadle's Pocket Library No. 372

About this issue

This 1891 issue of Vell contains the opening installments of "The Sea Cat's Prize; The Flag of the Red Hands," a serial adventure by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. The story unfolds aboard a Mexican carrera sailing the Gulf of Mexico, carrying Don Maceo Gonzalvo, his young daughter Amabel (age sixteen), the naval officer Captain Luis Rosal (her betrothed), and crew. As evening falls and the ship becalms near a pirate-haunted coast, the Pirates of the Lagoon attack in longboats. The narrative establishes that these same pirates killed Amabel's mother sixteen years prior. During the night assault, the vessel's small brass guns sink two pirate boats, but the remaining raiders board the carrera. Hand-to-hand combat ensues as Don Gonzalvo, Captain Rosal, and the helmsman Chico defend the ship against overwhelming numbers. Amabel witnesses the battle and grips a dagger, prepared for suicide rather than capture. The peons are driven aft and wounded, with victory uncertain as the installment concludes mid-battle.