Beadle's Dime Library No. 762: The Rounder Rogue in New York

This 1892 Beadle and Adams dime novel, No. 762, serializes "Old Grip, the Detective Rogue in New York" by Jackson Knox ("Old Hawk"). The story introduces Edward Grippon, alias "Old Grip," a mild-mannered but accomplished private detective whose pallid, hawk-like features belie his abilities. Miss Avice Hardy, a wealthy young woman, engages him to investigate her stepmother, Mrs. Wallace Hardy (formerly Lady Cholmondley), whom she suspects of being a dangerous adventuress. The stepmother, known in fashionable circles as "The Fair Lady Who Smiles" and "La Belle Dame Souriante," is working against Avice's romance with Herbert St. John while exerting a mysterious influence over Avice's father and brother Leslie. When Avice leaves Grip's office, a spy disguised as her stepmother's footman—the criminal "Romany Ralph" alias Richards—attempts to follow her. Grip apprehends him with violent efficiency, then a metal sign falls from above, killing a bystander. Officer Blake reports the sign was deliberately thrown by a red-haired man. Grip recognizes his involvement with his mysterious nemesis, "the Frozen Smile," and prepares for the masked ball scheduled for the next evening.