Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 860

This 1894 Beadle and Adams dime novel installment, "Dan Decker's Double Deal" by Jo Piercez, centers on Kit Clipper, a sixteen-year-old boy investigating the disappearance of Charles Birdston, a twenty-three-year-old brick-mason. Charles vanished after leaving the Sea-Horse Boat Club's boat-house on the North River. Louise Birdston, his sister, enlists Kit's help. While seeking a policeman, Kit encounters Stephen Leechmere and his nephew Horace in a street altercation—Horace accuses Horace of attempted robbery. Horace flees after assaulting Kit. Leechmere invites Kit to his nearby house for treatment. There, Leechmere's sister Elvira mentions the Sea-Horse Boat Club's suspicious activities, including recent vaults and subterranean construction work performed by a young mason—presumably Charles. The club, originally founded by aging sea-captains with rumored privateer history, now harbors disreputable young members.