The Chimney Spy

This issue of Beadle and Adams' pulp weekly (No. 579, Vol. XXII) contains "Broadway Billy Duped," a serial by J.C. Cowdrick continuing the "Broadway Billy" stories. Two bootblack-turned-newsboys, Billy and his thin partner Skinny, operate a corner stand on Broadway. Billy fancies himself a detective and receives a mysterious summons from Detective Speare to No. 53 ——— Street. Billy investigates a house marked as the office of Moses Levi, a money-lender, but discovers upon entering that he has been lured into a trap by men seeking revenge. They reveal themselves as associates of Bob Carter, whom Billy previously helped send to prison. The men threaten to entomb Billy alive within the chimney base, sealed with mortar. Billy maintains his characteristic wit and fearlessness throughout his predicament, though he observes the criminals speak in two registers—both colloquial criminal dialect and correct language—suggesting they are educated criminals rather than common thugs.