Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544

This issue presents the opening of a Western dime novel by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the "Deadwood Dick" series. "Cronger the Locator: A Tale of Sockdolager City" begins with an introduction to the Nevada mining town, which has posted notices forbidding "dudes" in plug hats and formal shirts—a policy enforced by mining-camp residents. Three notable arrivals at the Sandy Bar Hotel are introduced: Uncle Si Sloat, a Vermont farmer seeking detective assistance; Valentine Vidocq, a government detective (secretly Deadwood Dick, Jr.); and Hero Hicks, a repulsive four-foot dwarf. Vidocq gains local favor by defending a child flower-seller named Fern from Hicks's violence, defeating the dwarf in combat. The narrative then shifts as Sloat prepares to recount a mysterious case to Vidocq under the moonlight, establishing the story's central mystery.