Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 901

Museum Catalog Note This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (No. 901, 1894) features the serialized Western story "Diamond Dave, the Gilt-Edge Shooter; or, Daddy Grimes' Deadly Grip" by William R. Eyster, author of "Faro Frank" and other frontier tales. The narrative opens with civil engineer Kent Baker and his associate Sandy discovering five railroad workers attempting to sabotage track during a labor strike. When the workers, led by the Irish foreman Mike McKane, attack Baker and Sandy with picks and shovels, a mysterious armed stranger called Diamond Dave intervenes, brandishing pistols to halt the violence. Diamond Dave, apparently known to the workers, forces the strikers to withdraw. Baker expresses frustration at their disarmament and inability to ensure the track's repair before the Express train arrives, while Diamond Dave pragmatically counsels accepting their partial victory and flagging the train if necessary.