Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 575

Running Down the King This issue features the opening of "Running Down the King: A Romance of Border Trails" by Col. Prentiss Ingraham. The narrative unfolds in a frontier mining camp called Sunset City at the Good Luck Hall gambling saloon. Donald King, an elegant, refined gambler known as the "Card King," initially loses steadily at cards to Bart Bradley, a reckless young miner. King summons his wife, called the "Queen of Diamonds" and "Lady of Fortune," who has a reputation for never losing. However, she also loses repeatedly, shocking the assembled miners. After losing substantial sums, the Card King accuses Bradley of cheating and challenges him to a deadly duel with life as stakes: the loser must stand unarmed while the winner fires one shot. Bradley agrees to part of the challenge, citing unresolved debts from his past.