Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 923

This Beadle & Adams pulp weekly (Vol. LXXI, No. 9, 1896) features "Old Sunflower, the Hayseed Detective; or, Trapping Two New York Sharpers" by Albert W. Aiken. The serial opens with a confidence scheme on Courtlandt Street. Tommy the Kid, a bunco-steerer, encounters Jonathan "Old Sunflower" Flowers, a wealthy Western rancher from Bitter Creek with a carpet-bag full of cash. Despite his innocent appearance, Sunflower possesses surprising physical strength. Tommy befriends him and attempts a swindle involving prize brindle steers exhibited in a tent. The con escalates when Tommy introduces Sunflower to a supposed millionaire businessman running a lucrative New York scheme, presenting fraudulent lottery-like documents promising large cash payouts. The narrative suggests the old Westerner may be shrewder than he initially appears, potentially complicating the sharpers' plans.