Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 551

*Beadle's Dime Novels*, No. 551 (February 14, 1888) "The Old Well Mystery" by Jo Pierce opens with the discovery of Squire Hemenway's murder. Found stabbed in his bed with no weapon recovered, suspicion falls on his farm superintendent Martin Connors, Connors's wife Sarah, and his heir Jason Bostwick—though evidence remains circumstantial. Nicholas Hunter, a fifteen-year-old boy called "Nick Nettle" who worked for the squire, observes Bostwick's arrival. Eavesdropping through a kitchen window, Nick hears the trio discussing the murder with suspicious cheerfulness and references to their complicity. When Bostwick announces plans to search for the squire's will that night, Nick overcomes his scruples and secretly enters the house via an upper window to observe. He watches as Bostwick, Connors, and Mrs. Connors search the dead man's bedroom methodically, examining the bureau and other hiding places for the will.