Beadle's Pocket Library No. 401

This issue of Beadle and Adams' dime novel weekly features the serial "Lame Tim, the Mule Boy of the Mines; or, Wife Among the Black Diamonds" by Charles Morris. The narrative follows Tim, a small, lame boy working as a mule driver in a Pennsylvania coal mine, and his difficult situation with his employer Pickax Pete Plumtree, a brutal mine boss. Chapter I establishes the household dynamics: Pete's harsh treatment of Tim contrasts with the compassionate nature of Sukey, Pete's wife. Chapter II shifts to night activities in the mining valley, where miners gather secretly at Red Mike's house using coded passwords ("Foul weather to tyrants"), suggesting labor unrest and a planned strike. A well-dressed gentleman observer discovers the clandestine meeting and deduces trouble is brewing. The serial combines industrial-age working-class drama with mystery elements, depicting mining village life and labor tension.