The Deadwood Dick Library, Vol. III, No. 37

This issue of the Half-Dime Library (November 22, 1899) contains the opening chapter of "Nobby Nick of Nevada: The Scamps of the Sierras" by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick novels. The story introduces a criminal gang called the Bearded Brothers—six men disguised by heavy beards and numbered with brass letters—operating from a hidden mountain hut in the Sierra Nevadas. Led by Captain A, they engage in check forgery against miners and banks. A masked woman called Marie the Unknown serves as their strategist and telegraph operator. The chapter establishes multiple threats to the gang: a mysterious avenger called Grim Goblin systematically eliminating league members elsewhere, a sharpster detective named Nobby Nick reportedly heading toward their town of Deviltry, and a government spy. A telegraph message warns of wealthy General Arlington's arrival and mounting danger. The captain prepares to venture back to town as the gang confronts these mounting perils.