The Frisco Detective's Thug-Tangle; Or, The Junk-Dealer's Death-Deal

The Junk-Dealer's Death-Deal From *Beadle and Adams*, January 2, 1894 (Vol. LXII, No. 796), this detective serial by Joseph E. Badger Jr. opens with insurance agent Horace Kavanaugh reporting to John Prince, Special Agent for an Insurance Trust, when news arrives that Hilary Hillyard—who carries a half-million-dollar policy—has been killed. Prince and Kavanaugh rush to Hillyard's mansion on Nob Hill, San Francisco, where Police Chief Virgo Paulette bars entry. Gaining admission with the chief, Prince discovers Hillyard's charred corpse in his bedroom, destroyed by fire. The coroner identifies the body via a seal ring. Prince's examination reveals a crucial detail: a deep axe- or hatchet-wound in the skull—evidence of murder, not accident or suicide. The case deepens into foul play requiring investigation.