Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 557

1888 · 16 pages

This issue of *Beadle and Adams'* weekly (March 27, 1888) features the serial "Broadway Billy's Death Racket" by J.C. Cowdrick, author of the "Broadway Billy" and "Sandy Sam" stories. The narrative follows William "Broadway Billy" Weston, a former bootblack turned corner-stand merchant and amateur detective, and his thin partner "Skinny." Witnessing a woman struggling against a man in a carriage on Broadway, Billy suspects foul play and clandestinely follows the vehicle to a house in lower Manhattan. He enters through an unlocked basement door and cautiously explores the interior, avoiding servants in the kitchen. Ascending to the upper floors, he observes several people—including a beautiful girl appearing drugged—being led upstairs by two masculine-featured women and two men. Billy follows, suspecting the girl is a prisoner held against her will, attempting to uncover the mystery unfolding within the house.

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