Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 936

This 1895 Beadle and Adams dime novel, Jack Jarvis' Hold-Up, is written by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham and centers on a stagecoach journey through the Wild West. The narrative follows driver Joe Jarvis and his seventeen-year-old companion Ned Osmond, whose large dog Chum proves crucial to survival. When Mounted Miners outlaws ambush the Overland coach, Ned impulsively fires his rifle, killing the leader. Spurred by his boldness, the dog attacks a second outlaw while Joe whips the horses into flight. Both men sustain wounds but escape. Aboard the coach are two frightened male passengers who flee on foot, while two women—one heavily veiled, one young—remain to assist. Joe confesses his tragic past: his brother Jack turned road-agent for a woman's sake; the same woman manipulated Joe, ultimately marrying another man in secret. Ned's dog killed the masked road-agent who was Jack, though Joe only later recognized him.