Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 518

Catalog Note *The Cowboy's Fight for a Million: A Romance of City and Wild West* by Albert W. Aiken occupies the lead serial in this June 1887 Beadle dime novel. The opening chapter, "In the River," establishes a dual-setting adventure combining metropolitan New York and Western elements. A handcuffed fugitive named Nick Spader escapes from police detectives by leaping from a ferry in the East River, using skilled swimming to evade drowning beneath the vessel's wheel. Rescued from the water by his old Colorado acquaintance Dublin Mike and two criminal associates, Spader joins their river robbery scheme targeting a coastal schooner anchored off Governor's Island. The gang plans to board the vessel under cover of darkness using muffled oars, overpower the captain, and steal several hundred dollars in cargo before the crew returns from shore. Spader receives a revolver and joins the expedition as the narrative builds toward confrontation.