Beadle's Dime New York Library No. 715

# Duping the Diamond Prince

This serialized detective story by William G. Patten features Double-Voice Dan (also known as Dan Downing), a famous private detective nicknamed the "Ventriloquist Vidocq." The opening chapter, "A Struggle for Life," depicts Dan's attempt to arrest Battery Ben, a notoriously dangerous and evasive New York criminal, at an East River pier where a spile-driver is operating. After a violent struggle, Battery Ben escapes by boat and is struck by a steam launch, apparently drowning in the river. In the second chapter, a stout, elegantly-dressed sixty-year-old gentleman—revealed to be the "Diamond Prince" of New York—arrives at Dan's office seeking private assistance on a sensitive family matter. The text indicates this is part of a larger serial narrative appearing in this 1892 Beadle and Adams weekly publication.