Beadle's Pocket Library No. 314

Clip, the Boy Sheriff This serialized western story by Edward Willett follows a young contortionist named Clip Saunders in the frontier settlement of Orodia, near Virginia City. In Chapter I, Sam Bunker, a bull-slinger, harangues townspeople about vigilante justice, then forces Clip to perform acrobatic feats as entertainment. During a handstand walk-over, Clip kicks Bunker in the stomach with tremendous force. When Bunker threatens retaliation against both Clip and Harry Venn (a railroad worker who intervened), the Stunner's proprietress, Susan Nettle, breaks up the conflict. Chapter II shifts to Mat Warner's isolated ranch, where Clip lodges with the Warner family—including daughter Helen—having previously saved Helen's life. Warner questions Clip's mysterious past; Clip reveals he carries a weighted throwing knife and has been searching for something since coming from Kansas. The chapter ends as a bear threatens the ranch's pig-pen.