Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 773

# Exhibition Catalog: "The Opposition Boom at Lucky Ledge" (c. 1892)

This serialized western tale by Lieutenant A. K. Sims follows mining prospectors Red Fee and Curt Thomas who discover a wounded man named Philip Craigen in a gold-rich cave inhabited by a grizzly bear. Though Craigen shows signs of life, the two miners—driven by avarice upon seeing the ore-seamed walls—leave him to die and replace his original claim notice with their own, hoping the grizzly will be blamed.

When Craigen's body vanishes, they become anxious but proceed anyway. Over a month later, they host a masquerade ball above the Moss Agate saloon in Lucky Ledge to celebrate their "Grizzly Bear" mine's opening. The gathering includes a mysterious woman dressed as a shepherd maid whose true identity intrigues attendees. The narrative establishes the setup for an impending moral reckoning as the plot thickens.