The Dime Library: 'The Corkscrew Sport'

# Catalog Note

The Gold-lace Sport; or, The Texas Samson's Wide Swath by Jos. E. Badger, Jr., is a frontier adventure tale featuring Sparkler Sam, a giant adventurer dressed in silk, velvet, and gold lace. After witnessing Irish landlord Dennis Maloney brutally eject a young female bootblack from outside his hotel, Sparkler Sam intervenes violently, forcing Maloney at gunpoint to shine his boots before a growing crowd. Sam then orchestrates a public shaming, commandeering Maloney to serve the townspeople's boot-polishing needs while redirecting the dollar payments to the girl. When a well-dressed stranger refuses Sam's aggressive solicitation, Sam shoots at his feet. The stranger warns that though Sam caught him off-guard, he will seek retribution. Sam dismisses the threat and departs with the girl, planning to count their earnings in private. The narrative emphasizes Sam's physical dominance and ruthless enforcement of frontier justice through intimidation and gunplay.