Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 695: Deadwood Dick, Jr. in Danger

"Developing the Dead Secret" by Ed. L. Wheeler This opening installment of a detective serial features Deadwood Dick, Jr., a renowned lawman and private detective called to the territorial governor's office to solve a brutal murder. The governor's son was stabbed to death with a bowie knife on the night of May 23rd, and his five-year-old son was stolen. No local detectives found leads despite a substantial reward offered. A recent ransom note, signed "The Evil One Himself," demands twenty thousand dollars for the boy's return, setting a one-month deadline. Dick accepts a commission as territorial marshal and adopts the conspiratorial plan: he will travel to "Danger Divide," a remote mountain town, wearing a white cross signal to identify himself. He arrives on horseback at the plateau overlooking the pocket valley and encounters a toll-taker named Cross-eyed Simm, who offers local information in exchange for payment. The narrative combines mystery elements with frontier-adventure adventure conventions.