Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 605

1889 · 16 pages

"The Boy Detectives' Big Innings" by J. C. Cowdrick This serialized detective story introduces Broadway Billy (William Weston), a former bootblack turned young detective, and his thin-framed partner Skinny. When Billy notices a newspaper advertisement seeking a "very thin boy" for "special work," he and Skinny visit Professor Appletree's mysterious, dust-covered brownstone house at three o'clock. Among dozens of competing thin boys, Skinny is selected. The professor, a bald man of fifty-five in a red silk cap surrounded by scattered books and papers, proves reclusive and intellectual. Dismissing the crowd, Appletree demands secrecy from both boys before revealing his house's true purpose. Billy insists they will keep quiet only if the professor's work is lawful, threatening to leave otherwise. Appletree begins to explain his requirements, but the text cuts off mid-sentence.

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