The Dime Library Cover (No. 1045)

The Fighting Trapper: Kit Carson to the Rescue by Capt. J. F. C. Adams opens with George Summerfield, a young hunter, crossing the scorching Nebraska prairie during a drought. Desperately thirsty, he locates a grove near a stream. After satisfying his thirst, gunshots suddenly ring out from the grove—bullets narrowly missing him. An unseen marksman severs one of his curls with a shot. Summerfield returns fire, prompting a muscular, bearded man named Vic Vannoven to emerge. Despite their violent introduction, the two become acquainted. Vannoven reveals that Summerfield's separated traveling companions are only twelve miles away rather than forty. Vannoven offers companionship for the journey, mentioning his horse Porkypine and dog Polly. The two trappers enter the grove to make camp as darkness falls.