Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 340

Catalog Note This issue features the opening installment of "Cool Conrad, the Dakota Detective: A Tale of Frisco and the Gold Camps" by Capt. H. Holmes. The narrative opens with a mysterious, clean-shaven man of striking appearance examining a hotel register in San Francisco and noting the name "Noah Nelson" from San Diego. Nelson, a medium-built, bearded man wearing spectacles, immediately settles his bill upon witnessing the stranger's interest. Nelson receives an anonymous warning letter signed "4—11—21," revealing his true identity as Conrad Catchall, a notorious figure, and threatening death if he remains in the city. Defiant, Conrad ignores the warning and proceeds with his plans. The story shifts to a mining camp subplot involving confrontations between rival factions, Red Roy's discovery, and preparations for violence. The installment concludes with description of Monte Merle's, an elegant but suspected fraudulent gambling resort in San Francisco frequented by miners. The narrative combines detective intrigue, Western frontier elements, and criminal underworld activity.