Beadle's Dime Library No. 548

The Siren of the Baleful Eye: The Romance of a Strange Case by Jackson Knox (Old Hawk) appears in this April 24, 1889 Beadle & Adams dime novel. The serialized gothic mystery begins when invalid Mrs. Agathe Bardine's condition improves under her husband's watchful care. Doctor Cheatham privately reveals she has been poisoned—likely through a hypodermic syringe—and that only constant vigilance will save her. That night, Mr. Bardine awakens to find his seventeen-year-old daughter Garda standing over him with a dagger and syringe, moving as if under external control. He disarms her; she flees. Rushing to his wife's room, he discovers a fresh puncture wound on her foot while the faithful nurse Venus lies dazed, describing Garda's entrance as if "a big debbil" had possessed the girl. Bardine summons Dr. Cheatham urgently.