Beadle's Pocket Library No. 15

Diamond Dirk; or, The Mystery of the Yellowstone by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham

This western adventure serial opens with a hunting expedition near Yellowstone composed of Lord Gilbert, Earl of Lochiel (English nobleman), Jules Vernon (French former officer), Captain Leo Markham (Fort Ellis officer), and Trapper Dan (scout). While camped near Trail Creek, an arrow kills Trapper Dan, prompting Markham to pursue the unseen assailant into the timber. Meanwhile, a mysterious young stranger named Burt Belford arrives in Bozeman City seeking to trail the same party. He hires Diamond Dirk (Dudley), a flamboyantly-dressed frontiersman renowned as a plains guide, along with five additional experienced men to pursue Lord Gilbert's group. Belford's cryptic monologue suggests a personal vendetta—he anticipates meeting Gilbert and Vernon "face to face" after years of tracking them across the American wilderness. The narrative establishes multiple converging parties moving toward Yellowstone amid hostile Indian territory and mysterious local legends.