Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 753

# "Gideon's Grip at Babylon Bar; The Man With the Iron Dagger"

By Albert W. Aiken, this Western pulp serial opens in a Mormon mining settlement in New Mexico's San Francisco River valley. The discovery of Yellow John Nogales—a brutal Mormon enforcer—murdered in camp forms the catalyst. The desperado lies dead, killed by a crudely fashioned iron dagger driven through his heart, his weapons and money-belt stripped from his body. Long Tom Breckenridge, a Gentile prospector, discovers the corpse and alerts the town. Mormon leader Jonathan Oakham and Hiram Buckingham (nicknamed "King Hiram," rumored former member of the Destroying Angels) investigate. The narrative establishes tensions between the Mormon majority and Gentile miners, with Nogales having served as the saints' instrument of intimidation. The mystery deepens: the killer struck without struggle or noise, suggesting inside knowledge. The narrative promises to develop the investigation into this bold murder within the isolated settlement.