Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 38

# Ned Wylde, the Boy Scout

Beadle's Half-Dime Library (1878), by "Texas Jack" (J.B. Omohondro), opens with a frontier adventure. A young boy, Ned Wylde, awakens under cottonwoods near the Big Horn Mountains and witnesses three riders—led by Hart Moline—burying a murdered woman with a diamond ring in a hidden grave. Curious but forced to flee when gunfire erupts, Ned discovers Hart Moline fleeing Sioux pursuers. The leader removes a false beard, revealing his true face. Moline escapes toward timber while Ned becomes trapped between an Indian village and pursuing warriors. The narrative establishes mystery around the woman's death, Hart Moline's shadowy past, and Ned's resourcefulness as he navigates the dangerous frontier landscape.