Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 115

# "The Severed Head: The Secret of Castle Coucy"

This historical romance serial, authored by Captain Fred Whittaker, centers on events surrounding the 1099 Crusader assault on Jerusalem. The story opens with a treacherous midnight meeting in the valley of Kedron, where two French crusaders—Master Gaston and his squire Denis—conspire with the Emir Abou Sheer to assassinate Guy de Coucy, Master of Coucy, during the assault, offering him financial reward. When the assault begins, Gaston creates a false alarm about fire in the siege tower, causing the Christian forces to panic and retreat. Guy and his squire Eustace are separated and abandoned; Guy's headless corpse subsequently appears in the camp. Gaston inherits the Castle de Coucy title. Seven years later, the narrative shifts to peacetime Languedoc, where a mysterious minstrel approaches Coucy Castle at sunset, suggesting the introduction of a new plot element.