Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 353

This issue of *Beadle & Adams*' weekly publication (July 29, 1885) contains the opening chapters of "Barb Brennan, the Train Wrecker: A Railroad Detective Story" by John Cuthbert. Detective David Braceridge boards a Central Pacific train to apprehend notorious wrecker Black Barb Brennan and his gang, warned by an anonymous note. Braceridge stations officers throughout the train, each covering one of seven wreckers. When the signal is given, Brennan resists violently, shooting detective Buckley dead and escaping by leaping from the moving train. Six wreckers are captured; the train bypasses the ambush waiting ahead. Braceridge permits Meg Brennan, the wrecker's loyal wife, to leave unmolested. The narrative then shifts to Belplain, where wealthy Judge Westcourt's daughter Miriam is engaged to marry Dane Templeton. Templeton, revealed as formerly associated with criminal elements, encounters Brennan—wounded but alive—who has recognized him as "Cain Magruder."