Beadle's Pocket Library No. 196

# Catalog Note: The Dandy Detective, No. 196 (October 12, 1887)

This installment of Beadle and Adams's "Dandy Detective" series features Charles Morris's serial "The Abducted Boy Mystery," continuing his contributions to the house including "Bob Rockett" and "Fred Halyard." The narrative opens with a double capture in Philadelphia's suburbs: well-dressed Mr. David Darnly and mysterious Lucille Ernestine are arrested by a policeman as accessories in a child abduction. After exchanging a signet ring and cryptic warnings, Lucille is seized by armed men who knock the officer unconscious. Darnly fights fiercely but is overpowered and handcuffed. The attackers force both captives into a carriage while police pursue.

Chapter II shifts to the police station, where Tom Parsons (the injured officer) and Lieutenant Hill discuss the failed operation. They determine the captors are professional child-stealers and contact Mr. Allen Thorndike, whose son Clarence was kidnapped over a year prior. Thorndike's household remains devastated despite fruitless searching.