penny dreadfuls
New Nick Carter Weekly, No. 22
This issue of *New Nick Carter Weekly* (No. 22, May 29, 1897) features "The Sign of Crossed Knives," a detective serial by the author of Nick Carter. Detective Nick Carter briefs his young associate Trim on a case involving John Parmenter, a New York mining prospector traveling in Mexico's State of Jalisco. Parmenter discovered gold-bearing quartz on the volcano Colima and hired a guide named Antonio. During an expedition, Antonio suddenly attacked Parmenter with a knife, apparently attempting robbery. Parmenter drew his revolver and shot Antonio dead. Lost in the mountains afterward, Parmenter took ten days to reach the village of Guzman, only to arrive as a search party returned carrying Antonio's body. The bullet wound proved Parmenter's guilt, and his delayed return raised suspicions about his whereabouts and actions.