Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 580

The Outcast Cadet This issue of what appears to be a weekly story paper contains the serial "The Outcast Cadet; or, The False Detective" by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, author of "Buck Taylor" and other adventure tales. The narrative opens at a masquerade ball at Sleepy Hollow Manor on Long Island Sound, hosted by the wealthy Vavasour family. Three heirs—West Point Cadet Richard Dabney, his cousin Rodney St. Orme, and their cousin Pearl Vavasour—stand to inherit a judge's fortune. During the festivities, Rodney is shot dead near the boat-house while with Lela Lawrence. The killer wore a Mexican costume. When Richard Dabney, who alone wore such a costume, is discovered at the ball, he becomes the prime suspect despite Pearl Vavasour's alibi that he was rowing with her when the shooting occurred. The coroner's jury assembles to determine responsibility for the death, with evidence mounting against the accused cadet.