Jaguar Joe or the Rivals of Barrel Gulch

This issue of Beadle and Adams's *New Dime Novels* (January 13, 1885) contains "Jaguar Joe," a Western serial. The narrative follows young Joseph Leonard, a stage-driver for the Lower Pocket mining camp in Idaho, after his village wins a territorial competition for a government post-office. Joe visits his sweetheart Roema Albert in the rival Upper Pocket settlement, where her father Abe Albert runs a saloon. Roema reveals that a middle-aged English stranger visited the previous night seeking her father, who later denied the encounter. She has discovered a blood-stained, crushed hat hidden in the storeroom and a dark stain on the floor, strongly suggesting foul play. Joe examines the evidence but finds no additional clues, leaving the mystery unresolved as the chapter concludes.