Beadle's Dime Library No. 286

Pistol Johnny; or, One Man in a Thousand This issue features the serialized Western story "Pistol Johnny; or, One Man in a Thousand," by Joseph E. Badger Jr., credited as author of numerous other frontier tales. The narrative opens with a traveler known as Timber Doodle, singing from atop a white mule, who is ambushed on a mountain road by six masked road-agents planning a stage robbery. Timber Doodle is captured, gagged, and hidden. The story shifts to stage driver Tansy Dick, who recognizes and picks up an old mining acquaintance named Catbird Jones near Horn Silver station. Inside the stage are four passengers: Miss Zora Tiffany, a young woman; Woody Wilkinson, her traveling companion; Zerub Throop, an aspiring lawyer; and Jack Meaders, a rough fellow. The stage abruptly halts as the robbery begins to unfold. The narrative combines Western action, frontier characters, and burgeoning conflict as multiple plotlines converge.