Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1003

This 1896 pulp serial by Howard M. Boynton follows "German Joe" Schlerger, a German-accented wanderer who arrives in the frontier town of Placer Ranch. After witnessing a man carrying an unconscious young woman, Joe is later falsely accused of kidnapping Grace Denmore, the beautiful seventeen-year-old daughter of Colonel Denmore. A knife bearing Joe's name is planted as evidence. Though innocent, Joe escapes captivity rather than face frontier justice. The actual kidnapper is Nick Goodloe, a local desperado spurned by Grace, who has taken her to the notorious "Badgers' Nest" saloon in the rough town of Silverside, kept by a dangerous man named Dacy. The townsfolk pursue Joe, unaware that the real culprit rides among them.