Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 174

Bob Rockett, the Boy Dodger: Mysteries of New York This pulp serial by Charles Morris follows Bob Rockett, a street orphan and leader of a gang of vagrant boys living in New York's tenement district during October. The narrative opens with Rockett entertaining his companions—Joe, Paul, and others—with the story of how he trapped a street performer's monkey in his coat pocket near Fulton Ferry, leading to a chaotic encounter with the organ-grinder. When a rough laborer named Rusty Mike kicks Rockett on the street, the humiliated boy takes out his anger on Joe, prompting Paul to intervene. A fierce fight erupts between Rockett and Paul, drawing crowds of onlookers until a policeman's approach scatters the combatants. The fragmentary conclusion suggests involvement in criminal activity or theft, with references to planning illicit "work" for the evening.