Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 682

Buffalo Bill's Secret Service Trail; or, The Mysterious Foe This serialized adventure romance by Major Dangerfield Burr follows Buffalo Bill (William Cody) on a desperate 150-mile courier mission to deliver a pardon to Sergeant Dudley Drew, sentenced to execution at Fort Advance for shooting his superior officer, Lieutenant Hobart Otey. General Custer dispatches the legendary scout through hostile Sioux territory, doubting any man would volunteer for the suicidal ride. Buffalo Bill accepts, riding with two relay horses through Indian-infested plains. The narrative opens with his dramatic arrival at Fort Advance during a Sioux attack: his warning allows Captain Vaughan to direct artillery fire that repels the warriors. Buffalo Bill then ventures onto the night prairie seeking the sergeant, who was shot moments before receiving the pardon. The story emphasizes frontier military action, scout heroism, and Indian combat across the Western landscape.