Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 425

"The Border Rattler: or, Big Stakes and a Bold Game" by T. C. Harbaugh occupies this 1885 Beadle and Adams dime novel issue. The story opens at Hermosilla Ranch near the Brazos River and Staked Plains, where Major Ralph Rogers' beautiful ward Inez meets with Roy Berdan, a young guest awaiting the major's return before traveling to Camp Coyote to see an uncle. A mysterious, handsome ranchero named Laced Leon arrives seeking the major but departs, secretly orchestrating a deception: he sends a half-breed mute boy with a forged urgent letter from Roy's uncle, compelling Roy's immediate departure across the dangerous Llano. Inez, suspecting a plot, recruits the silent Comanche tracker to follow Roy and sends her own warning note to the major. She then saddles a horse to pursue them herself. The narrative concludes with an ape-like, hump-shouldered character named Flippo discovering Inez's explanatory letter in her chamber.