Beadle's Dime Library No. 641

Beadle's Dime Novels, February 4, 1891 This issue features "The Vultures' Swoop: A Story of Astonishing Adventures in the Buried City of Northern Arizona," by William G. Patten (author of "Old Dismal, the Range Tramp" and "Hustler Harry"). The prologue depicts a desperate gold prospector dying of thirst in the Arizona desert, hallucinating a mirage before vultures claim him. Chapter One introduces nineteen-year-old Harry Denton, an orphaned youth seeking fortune in Arizona with companions Philip Strong and Barney Brady, an Irish lad. Having obtained a promising document, the three partners venture north from San Carlos across the Salt and Little Colorado Rivers. They encounter Luis Servedo, a young Mexican ranchman of noble bearing, who invites them to his hacienda. Luis reveals his parents were murdered a year prior by Black Vulture and his outlaw gang. He has been away seeking vengeance and returns anxious for his sister Anita's welfare. The text grows fragmentary thereafter.