Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 264

"The Crooked Three; or, The Black Hearts of the Guadalupe" Author: "Buckskin Sam" (Major Sam S. Hall) This Western revenge narrative opens on Colonel Maurice Montague's prosperous plantation near Victoria, Texas, on the Rio Guadalupe. Twenty-five years before the story's opening, Montague had fled the Colorado River region after an armed duel with James Wickford, who lost an arm in the confrontation. Wickford, consumed by vengeance, raised his son William to hate Montague and trained him as a card sharp and gunman. Now the elder Wickford, partnered with the unscrupulous gambler Hank Hodge, lures Montague to Indianola under the false pretense of a business partnership, posing as "Wyman Walker." Their scheme aims to ruin Montague financially and destroy his sixteen-year-old daughter Marietta—his only remaining comfort. The conspiracy hinges on destroying the colonel through cards and deception before resorting to violence.