Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 574

Museum Catalog Entry This issue contains the opening of "The Great Detective's Finishing Stroke," a detective serial by Jackson Knox (author of "The Circus Detective," "Springsteel Steve," and "Old Grip"). The story concerns Charles Howland, a young Wall Street clerk convicted of forgery and sentenced to three years in prison. Howland maintains his innocence, claiming fellow clerk Juan Burleo—a Spanish Creole—forged a check to frame him and win the affections of Nelly Sherwood, Howland's sweetheart. Colonel Sherwood, Nelly's wealthy banker father, allows himself to be blackmailed by Burleo regarding a business secret. Nelly, however, resolves to prove Howland's innocence. She summons her cousin Hugh Spender, a prominent criminal lawyer who defended Howland, proposing "a daring project" to save her lover. The narrative interweaves courtroom drama, romantic entanglement, and blackmail schemes across New York locations including the courts, Wall Street, and Mount Morris Park.