Beadle's Dime Library No. 729

The Cohort of Five: The Romance of a Just Vengeance

By Albert W. Aiken. At remote Junction Flat in Arizona Territory—a settlement of two houses at the convergence of three stage routes—the stage agent John Cavillo and Mexican hand Michael Vernado plot robbery against incoming passengers. Three travelers arrive: Sebastian Poppenheim, a German professor; Reginald Broughton, an English gentleman; and Richard Velvet, a well-dressed man the suspicious Cavillo recognizes as "Cherokee," a dangerous gambler from California days. While waiting for a hack to Apache City, Broughton and Poppenheim discover a connection through Broughton's nephew. Broughton reveals his reason for traveling to the territory: thirty years prior, his wild elder brother came to America and subsequently disappeared, and Broughton now seeks him.