Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 275

# "The Smuggler Cutter: or, The Cavern in the Cliff"

The Smuggler Cutter is a maritime adventure by J. D. Conroy, serialized in this 1894 issue of Beadle & Adams' weekly dime novel. Set on the Kentish coast in 1822, the narrative opens with young Grace, barely fourteen, and a man named Joseph stationed on the cliffs near Lizard Point. They witness cannon fire and realize Grace's brother Gerald has been forced aboard the smuggling cutter Rift. Joseph lights a signal beacon—a blue flame—alerting the vessel below. When the mist clears under moonlight, Grace watches the Rift pursue by His Majesty's revenue schooner Spray. After a fierce naval engagement with cannons and small-arms fire lasting ten minutes, the Spray's crew prepares to board. When the smoke clears, the Rift has vanished entirely, leaving no trace on the moonlit water—suggesting either escape into a hidden cavern or some other mysterious disappearance.