Duncan, the Sea-Diver; or, The Coast Vultures

This issue of *Beadle & Adams* pulp fiction (Vol. XXXIII, No. 296, June 25, 1884) features the opening installment of "Duncan, the Sea-Diver" by George St. George, a frontier adventure tale set along the Mexican coast. The protagonist—a powerful, blonde-bearded pearl diver nicknamed Duncan or the Shark-Slayer—awaits his lover, "Little Texas," at a forest camp when wolf-hounds of a bandit organization called the Coast Vultures approach with murderous intent. Little Texas arrives first to warn him; Duncan deceives three assassins by arranging his sombrero and serape to resemble a sleeping man, then shoots two of them dead from hiding while the third flees. Little Texas then recounts how she learned of the plot from Pedro the dwarf, who overheard conspirators at San Miguel ruins. The serial continues with character development and backstory concerning Duncan's secrets and dangerous enemies.