Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 62

# The Rival Lieutenants

This issue contains "The Rival Lieutenants," a historical tale by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham set during the Second War with Great Britain. The narrative begins in New York City on a blustery December night when a young naval lieutenant enters a gambling establishment and wins a massive sum at roulette through successive bets. Desperate for money and now facing complete ruin when he loses everything including his watch, he contemplates suicide at the East River. Interrupted by street violence, he helps a gentleman sailor defeat four ruffians in combat. Rescued from despair, the officer is invited aboard the Mexican cruiser El Cinto de Acero. The second chapter shifts to Maine's coast, where Lord Raphael Vivian and his beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter Claudine observe a terrible storm, presumably threatening ships at sea. The narrative interweaves military action, adventure, and romantic elements.