Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 492

This 1886 Beadle and Adams pulp weekly, edited by George C. Jenks, contains the serialized story "Git Thar Owney's Pledge." The narrative opens on a foggy East River at midnight, where two river thieves, Jim Riggan and "Ugly" Bill Sharpe, row a black yawl toward the anchored yacht Siren. Their mission involves stealing a silver vase—a yachting trophy worth approximately $200 in precious metal—and retrieving a photograph from the sleeping owner, a young man named Norman. As Riggan infiltrates the cabin and pilfers a pocket-book containing the photograph and currency, an unexpected observer arrives: a young member of the Secret River Police called "Git Thar Owney." When Riggan attempts to silence the awakening Norman with a handy billy (a lead-weighted weapon), Git Thar Owney intervenes, disarming the thief and saving Norman's life. The narrative is crime/adventure fiction centered on river piracy and law enforcement in New York.