Beadle's Dime Library No. 696

Museum Catalog Note *The Mystery of the Missing Herr*, by William G. Patten, is a serialized detective romance set in New York's Bowery and riverfront. The story opens with two gamblers, "Dandy Mac" Edgewood and "Ted the Tipper" Tobin, loitering outside a cheap theater where they intend to approach a beautiful variety singer. A ragged mendicant approaches them for money; upon seeing the tramp's face, Edgewood becomes agitated and follows him with Tobin toward the isolated South Street waterfront. Unknown to them, private detective Daniel "Double-voice Dan" Downing—disguised as an Irish laborer—has been shadowing Edgewood and observes the two men attack the beggar with a cane, striking him senseless by the river. The narrative examines crime, urban poverty, and deception across the city's social strata.