Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 571

1888 · 16 pages

This issue from July 8, 1888 (No. 571) features "Air-Line Luke, the Engineer Detective," a serial by J. C. Cowdrick, author of several detective and adventure stories. The narrative follows railroad workers Air-Line Luke Jackson and engineer "Doc" Howard, who witness a mysterious spectral figure in white blocking the tracks near Warland River bridge. The apparition vanishes when struck by the train, leaving no physical evidence. Word of the sighting spreads along the railroad line, alarming workers with superstitious dread of impending calamity. Simultaneously, a parallel plot emerges: bank president Joseph Redding hires detective Wilson Hooper to investigate systematic robbery through forged notes totaling twenty-five thousand dollars, and separately, counterfeit money circulating in the region. The perpetrator, Herbert Spencer, has disappeared after liquidating real estate purchases. The story develops as a dual mystery combining railway gothic atmosphere with detective work.

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