The Female Barber Detective

This 1895 Beadle and Adams dime novel installment presents "The Female Barber Detective" by Albert W. Aiken. The story opens in Silver City, New Mexico, where a mysterious woman named Mignon Lawrence arrives by train, claiming to seek her uncle James Lawrence at the mining camp of Bearopolis. A suspicious man named John "Sandy" Bickerstaff overhears her story and reports to a swarthy Mexican associate at a saloon, discussing her arrival as if she represents some larger scheme. The hotel proprietress warns Miss Lawrence against trusting Bickerstaff. The next morning, stage driver "Skinny" Jake Thompson transports Miss Lawrence and Bickerstaff toward Bearopolis. En route, a masked road-agent on horseback abruptly halts the stagecoach. Bickerstaff warns that resistance is futile when confronted by such outlaws. The narrative breaks as the masked robber approaches the stopped vehicle.