Beadle's Pocket Novels No. 71: Delaware Tom

Delaware Tom: or, The Traitor Guide By Harry Hazard, this serialized western follows a wagon-train of emigrants in 1854. The narrative opens with three notable figures: Tom Maxwell, an elderly guide of some fifty years; Richard Rouzee ("Dusky Dick"), a younger guide of questionable reputation who has lost half his charges; and Clara Calhoun, a beautiful young woman traveling with her father, the train's captain. Dusky Dick becomes obsessed with Clara, persistently courting her despite her clear rejection. When she rebuffs his advances, he threatens that she will soon "crouch at [his] feet" and call him master. Clara reports his behavior to her father, who consults Tom Maxwell for advice. Maxwell praises Dusky Dick's skills as a guide but warns he resembles a "copperhead" snake—untrustworthy and vengeful, likely to strike from concealment. Maxwell expresses concern that Dick may harbor destructive intentions toward the train, hinting at dark possibilities ahead.