Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 657

Warbling William; or, The Singing Detective and His Boy Second A Western adventure serial by Lieutenant A. K. Sims. The story follows Mr. William Ware, a seemingly shabby itinerant performer who travels with his young assistant, Master Harry, called "the Boy Second." They arrive in Rocket Range posing as entertainers—Ware as a singer and guitarist, the boy as an acrobat. During their first performance, a dissatisfied miner named Sam Brown demands a refund, calling the act worthless. Ware cleverly defuses the situation by composing and singing an impromptu, satirical song ridiculing the "Kicker," turning the crowd's sympathy toward the performers. The saloon proprietor, Shelby Tanner, is so impressed he hires Ware for thirty dollars weekly plus board. The narrative reveals Ware and Harry are actually detectives investigating someone in Rocket Range—apparently a man named John Leonard who visits the saloon. The deliberately poor performance was a calculated scheme to gain local acceptance and gather intelligence. Harry is assigned to shadow Leonard while Ware maintains his cover as a performer.