Beadle's Dime Library No. 889: Sea Wraith Driftford

This 1895 pulp serial, *The Sea Wraith: The Privateer Prince* by Burke Brentford, begins as a naval romance set in 1812 Long Island. Jessie Heartwell, a young woman, is courted against her will by Captain Courtold, who commands a mysterious black schooner anchored offshore. Her lover, Frank Freeway, arrives to defend her from Courtold's abduction attempt, but British sailors—revealed to be a press-gang operation—overpower him, kidnapping Freeway, Jessie's Uncle Blowlock, and another man. The ship, previously disguised as the smuggler *Nancy Jane*, is revealed as H.M.S. *Reardan*, a British warship armed with cannon. As she departs firing a mocking broadside, news arrives that Congress has declared war on Britain, sparking enthusiasm for privateering and the possibility of capturing the British vessel.