Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 749

Title: Joe Phenix's Big Bulge

Author: Albert W. Aiken

This detective serial installment begins with renowned private detective Joe Phenix encountering Inspector Byrnes of the New York Police Department on Fifth Avenue. Byrnes offers Phenix a case from mysterious clients. That night, Phenix is accosted by Daniel Crickley, an English butler recently released from Sing Sing prison after serving time for house-breaking. Crickley had been arrested by Phenix four years earlier; the operation resulted in near-murder and his confederates received longer sentences.

Phenix expects trouble: Crickley and fellow criminals plan vengeance. When Crickley requests a meeting at a deserted North River pier, Phenix anticipates assassination. He notices accomplices stationed nearby. At the pier's end, Phenix violently disarms Crickley, discovering a loaded revolver in his pocket. The detective subdues him, intending to force a confrontation rather than submit to the trap.