Dark Paul, the Tiger King; or, Caught in His Own Trap

This issue of Beadle and Adams's weekly dime novel (July 5, 1881) features the opening chapters of "Dark Paul, the Tiger King; or, Caught in His Own Trap" by Charles Morris. Ernest Delaine, a western stranger newly arrived in the city, rescues a beautiful, mysterious woman from a carriage where she's being assaulted by the villainous "Dark Paul." After ejecting the attacker into the street, Ernest finds himself trapped in a mansion with the woman, who retrieves a mysterious ivory-backed book. The coachman—revealed as Dark Paul's agent—locks them inside; a gunshot rings out and a tiger's roar echoes through the house. Meanwhile, a stray bullet from Ernest's earlier street confrontation crashes through a distant window, interrupting a conversation between a Scotch gentleman and a melancholy middle-aged woman named Mrs. Hudson, who gazes upon a fallen portrait of a stern-faced young man.