Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 821

# The Mute Chinaman Among the Crooks

This installment features the detective serial "Broadway Billy," written by J.C. Cowdrick. The story opens with detective protagonist "Broadway Billy" Weston and his two assistants—the talkative Happy Harry and the taciturn Silent Seth—eager for their next case. A young woman, Gretna Granton, engages Billy to investigate the mysterious disappearance of David Haswick, the paymaster of her father's mills in Granton, New Jersey. Haswick vanished two weeks prior while returning from Brisbane with payroll money; his horse arrived home riderless and sweating, though no signs of violence appeared along the road. Complications emerge: Haswick was romantically involved with Miss Granton, creating a rival in Richard Bardner, a banker's son. Additionally, Frederick Lycurgus, secretary to a local recluse called the Mad Chemist, suspects Haswick absconded with the funds. Billy agrees to investigate, cautioning secrecy, and the assistants express enthusiasm for the unfolding mystery.