Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 374

Gold Dust Tom; or, Ambergris Ben's Double Match by George Henry Morse. This Western adventure serial appears in Beadle and Adams's weekly publication (Vol. XV, No. 374, September 23, 1884). The story follows two protagonists: Ambergris Ben, a weathered sea-rover and whaler who made his fortune harvesting ambergris from dead whales, and Gold Dust Tom, a mining scout and stage-driver known throughout the Pacific slope for his martial prowess and defense of the vulnerable. When Ben loses five thousand dollars to crooked faro dealing by gambler Horace Ellis in a San Francisco gambling den, Tom intervenes, exposes the fraud, and forces Ellis to repay the stolen money. After dispatching two assassins sent by the vengeful Ellis, Tom rushes back to Ben's hotel following gunshots and cries for help, discovering villainy afoot. The narrative combines frontier action with mystery elements surrounding Tom's undisclosed motives.