Beadle's Dime Library, No. 730

# Duke Despard, the Gambler Duelist: The Lady of Luck

This serial adventure by Dr. Noel Dunbar concerns Duke Despard, called the Ruby King, a sophisticated professional gambler known for his jeweled appearance and mysterious reputation. During a storm-swept night at Idlerest Plantation in Mississippi, Despard plays high-stakes cards with Doctor Chetwynd, a Southern planter who has already lost a fortune to him. Despite Despard's ethical warnings, Chetwynd wagers his last possession—the plantation itself—and loses everything. That same night, Lieutenant Donald Chetwynd arrives home by steamboat after naval service, only to discover his father has committed suicide with a dueling pistol, leaving a letter explaining the gambling debts and requesting his son redeem the plantation from Despard. The narrative sets up conflicts between honor, desperation, and the gambler protagonist's enigmatic moral character.