Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 333

COLONEL COLDSTEEL AND HIS LUCKY SEVEN William R. Eyster's serial opens in the mining camp of Brad Awl, a lawless frontier town from which no one escapes alive. Doctor Gabriel Gordon and his daughter Ianthe have arrived seeking wealth, ignoring the warnings of local Colonel Abner Thompson. A drunken vagabond named Howlin' Billy Bender warns them that Colonel Coldsteel and his gang—"the Lucky Seven"—trap victims in the camp, rob them, and murder those attempting to leave, burying bodies in a private graveyard. After Bender is dismissed, a stranger named Deck Bright appears through a slit in the shared wall partition, identifying himself as another newcomer. He corroborates Bender's warnings and advises the Gordons not to trust the Judge or Colonel Coldsteel. Despite their initial suspicion of both visitors, the Gordons begin to realize they may be trapped in a murderous criminal operation disguised as a legitimate mining camp.