Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 170

"A Trump Card; or, Will Wildfire Wins and Loses" This serialized story by Charles Morris, author of "Billy Baggage" and "Black Bess," appeared in *Beadle and Adams'* weekly publication, October 26, 1882. The narrative opens at the Golden Lion inn during a severe winter storm. Young Will Wildfire, a cheerful, energetic traveler, arrives seeking shelter and refreshment. A second traveler—scarred, shabby, and reserved—arrives separately. Will generously offers the stranger a drink of the inn's famous punch, which the stranger secretly refuses, passing it to a serving man instead. Will departs hastily after receiving a folded message, leaving the older traveler behind. The story then shifts to a nearby abandoned hut where a gang of four men—three rough brigands and one well-dressed leader with a keen face and piercing eyes—prepares an ambush. The leader expects someone to pass around midnight. The gang checks their pistols, extinguishes the fire, and ventures into the storm to position themselves along a narrow path through the woods, preparing what appears to be a robbery or kidnapping plot.