Beadle's Dime Library No. 237

Long-Haired Max; or, The Black League of the Coast by Captain Mark Wilton continues a California adventure series set in 1855. The story opens aboard the merchant schooner Water Witch sailing northward along the Pacific coast. The protagonist, Max Proctor—a handsome American gentleman dressed as a Mexican dandy with distinctive long black hair—converses with Irish sailor Tim Foley, who reveals the ship's dark purpose: the captain and crew plan to murder Max and throw his body overboard that night after robbing him. Foley, himself recently impressed into service aboard the dishonest vessel, proposes desertion. The two men escape in a small boat and row toward the coastal town of Nuevo Madrid, evading Captain Jabez Peters and his suspicious crew. As they flee, Max ponders the ship's true criminal enterprise, suspecting operations beyond simple smuggling. The narrative suggests a larger mystery awaiting in the California interior.