The Bandit Queen: A Tale of Italy

The Bandit Queen This issue contains the first chapter of "The Bandit Queen: A Tale of Italy" by Emerson Bennett, beginning a serialized adventure narrative. Bennett, credited as author of "Sol Slocum," "Prairie Flower," and other works, presents the opening episode titled "The Attack and Rescue." The story follows Alfred Thornton, a twenty-two-year-old American from New York traveling in Europe after completing his collegiate course. While walking near Naples, Thornton hears screams from a carriage under attack by Italian brigands. He fires his revolver in the air to frighten the robbers, rescuing Chester Blakely, an Englishman, and Blakely's niece Georgine Delamere. Blakely has received serious wounds—a head injury and a bullet wound below his lung. At Blakely's insistence, Thornton accompanies them to the family dwelling, where the wounded man's wife and daughter greet the situation with relative indifference. The narrative establishes an ensemble of characters and promises romantic and adventurous complications ahead.