Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 508

This weekly dime novel serializes "The Bad Men of the Basin," credited to Major Daniel Boone Dumont, author of frontier adventure tales. The opening establishes the struggling mining camp of Topnotch, perched inaccessibly on a mountainside, abandoned when its original ore vein played out. The narrative follows Simon Marvel, a tenderfoot financial agent sent by a new mining company to establish operations, and introduces Burch Blanton, an engineer dispatched for surveying, unknown to each other. Chapter One depicts Marvel entering McGinley's saloon seeking food; four local toughs—Sandy McGuckin, Ben Staples (Bad Lands Ben), Deadwood Dave, and Aaron Isaacs—intimidate him with exaggerated tales of violence against newcomers. When Marvel attempts to leave, they trap him, forcing him to buy drinks while stealing his money. His cry for help attracts the suddenly-appearing Burch Blanton, setting up the rescue and complication of the plot.