Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 269

*The Gold Ship; or, Merle, the Condemned* is a pirate adventure serial by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, published in 1882 by Beadle and Adams. Merle Monte, a condemned midshipman in the U.S. Navy, and his faithful Abyssinian slave Mezrak are imprisoned aboard the vessel of Brandt, the Buccaneer—a ruthless pirate seeking their hidden treasure. Brandt, once a sub-officer under Merle's father Montezuma, knows the youth inherited vast riches from his buccaneer grandfather and Persian princess grandmother, concealed on an island off the Mexican coast. A mysterious Black Pilot, claiming to be a cabin boy but secretly an avenger, infiltrates the ship, possesses Merle's navigation chart to the island, and appears poised to sabotage Brandt's plans while claiming friendship with the prisoners.