The White Hermit

This issue of *The White Hermit; or, The Unknown Foe* by W. J. Hamilton is a romance of the lakes and woods. Captain Larry Austen, a forest ranger in the Colonial Rifles, questions Hungry Bill Epps about a reclusive stranger inhabiting an island in a New York lake. Bill, bound by oath, refuses to reveal information. During their dispute, both men fall into the water. A young woman in a boat, who introduces herself only as Perdita, witnesses the scene. She praises Bill's honor and rebukes the captain for attempting to penetrate her secret refuge. Austen gallantly offers protection should danger arise; Perdita reciprocates, promising to send Bill if she requires aid. She declines to share her true identity, stating she has lost everything—friends, name, and station.