The New York Dime Library No. 1011

Museum Catalog Note This issue of *Hand Novels* contains the serialized adventure "Luke, the Life-Saver: The Wreckers of Bell-Point Light. A Story of the Last of the Shinnecocks" by Tom W. King. The narrative opens with the wreck of the merchant ship *Jessie*, bound from Canton to New York, during a violent hurricane. When the vessel strikes rocks near Bell-Point Lighthouse, Captain Grace and his six-month bride perish, but Winnemuka, a Shinnecock Indian sailor, secures the captain's daughter Lillian to his body with rope and leaps into the sea. Meanwhile, lighthouse keepers witness a mysterious golden-haired girl in a small boat navigating the tempestuous waters with supernatural skill. As a schooner approaches the rocks, the girl's oar work mysteriously guides the vessel to safety, suggesting her connection to the shipwreck's aftermath. The story emphasizes maritime disaster, heroism, and indigenous characters within a Gothic-tinged adventure narrative.