Beadle's Pocket Library No. 51

# Patent-Leather Joe; or, Old Rattlesnake, the Charmer

This Rocky Mountain romance by Philip S. Warne follows Arthur Hamilton, a "greeny" from the East who arrives in Virginia City with $5 remaining. At a gambling establishment run by the flamboyant Patent-Leather Joe, Arthur employs a mathematical doubling strategy at chuck-a-luck, systematizing his bets to guarantee eventual profit. Recognizing the system's soundness, Joe refuses to continue, breaching their written agreement. The young miner Flash Lightning intervenes, forcing Joe at gunpoint to honor the wager. Arthur magnanimously demands Joe repay all victims plus $200 rather than claiming his full winnings. Arthur and Flash become partners. Meanwhile, Patent-Leather Joe visits his secret woodland hideaway where he meets Berenice Granger, a blonde sixteen-year-old girl he has been grooming. For the first time, he regards her romantically, and he kisses her with passionate intensity rather than paternal affection, unsettling the innocent girl.