Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 19

This issue of Beadle's Half-Dime Library contains "The Phantom Spy: The Pilot of the Prairie" by Buffalo Bill. The serial follows Prairie Pilot, a renowned Western scout, who pursues the mysterious Phantom Spy—a figure on a white horse whose appearance invariably precedes robbery and bloodshed on frontier wagon-trains. When Prairie Pilot finally corners the phantom rider on the moonlit prairie, he discovers it is a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl in white robes. After learning she acts as scout for the bandit Hermit Chief, he releases her on condition she cease spying. The narrative shifts to scout Bravo Bob, who returns to camp with a captured robber. The story combines frontier action, mysterious pursuit, and romantic elements typical of period adventure fiction.