Beadle's Dime Library No. 933

This September 1896 Beadle and Adams dime novel presents "Dashing Charlie, the Wild West Detective: or, The Bravos of Borderland" by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. The opening chapters follow Charlie Emmett, a scout and guide protecting a gold shipment bound for Texas from Captain Markham. Charlie ambushes a band of nine masked marauders led by a mysterious black-clad chief, killing one outlaw and dropping a horse to slow their pursuit. He then discovers a mysterious trail: a deserted camp of poisoned miners, another battlefield with dead bodies, and a burned cabin where old Matt Markham—the gold's source—was buried per his wishes. Charlie confronts Hunter Dave, a suspicious scoundrel searching the cabin's ashes, warning him away from the area while vowing to guard the grave from his cave dwelling nearby. The narrative develops themes of frontier detective work, hidden treasure, and shadowy threats.