The New York Dime Library, No. 1042

Beadle's Dime Library (November 1900) This issue features "The Swordmaker of the Santee" by Dr. J. H. Robinson, a Revolutionary War adventure serial. The narrative opens with the fugitive Deering fleeing mounted dragoons across South Carolina terrain near the Santee River. After a desperate swim across the river, Deering is captured by Colonel Somerton's cavalry unit. Though unarmed and resigned, Deering displays striking physical presence—tall, muscular, with regular features marked by melancholy. The dragoon Jim Giles refuses to transport the prisoner, calling him a traitor who has betrayed his native country for British sympathies. While Somerton grants Deering a fair trial, Captain Rainford advocates immediate execution. The prisoner is confined in a log cabin prison guarded by Sergeant Giles. Rainford warns Deering that he will share the fate of Nathan Hale and other executed spies, suggesting overwhelming evidence of treason against him.