Beadle's Dime Library No. 718

This Beadle and Adams dime novel issue, No. 718 from 1892, features "The Bad Men of Mineral Bar: A Romance of Sunken River" by William R. Eyster, author of "Pistol Pards" and "Double-Shot Dave." The narrative opens with six rough men positioned to ambush a traveler on a mountain divide. Tom Truefit and Bandy Bruce, masked, attempt to rob the young stranger at gunpoint. The confrontation escalates when the seemingly vulnerable traveler, revealed to possess exceptional strength and combat skill, breaks Tommy's nose with a single punch, disarms Bandy with a hidden derringer, and captures Tommy in a crushing hold. The four additional accomplices emerge but hesitate as the stranger uses his captive as a shield. The excerpt concludes with their uncertainty about whether Bandy is seriously wounded or still alive, and Tommy screaming in agony under the stranger's iron grip.