Beadle's Pocket Library No. 316: The Street Hard Detective

# "The Street Arab Detective: Dirk Dorgan's Double-Dealing" by Charles Morris

This serialized novel opens with a street brawl on a quiet city street where well-dressed, slight-built Will Worth is tormented by Jimmy Jones and his gang of ragged boys. A ragged youth maintains fair play while Will, though repeatedly knocked down, displays unexpected pluck and eventually defeats Jimmy. Mr. Wilson, a gentleman and Will's employer, witnesses the fight and orders Will to his office afterward.

The next morning, Wilson and his business partner Mr. Brown discuss a mysterious scheme involving someone called "old Dirk" Dorgan, a suspicious and dangerous Jersey coaster they must deceive. They resolve to use Will—praised for his courage—to get close to Dirk without arousing suspicion. When Will appears for discipline regarding the fight, disheveled but dignified, he expects dismissal but his employers have other intentions, intercepting his departure with a cryptic "See here..."