Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 161

About this issue

Albert W. Aiken's serial adventure opens with a daring prison escape from Sing Sing. A convict identified as "Captain Molly," a master thief imprisoned for seven years, is rescued by confederates who have sabotaged the prison guard-boat's oars. Though guards fire upon the fugitives, their weapons contain only blank cartridges—suggesting an inside operative working with the criminal organization calling themselves the "Wolves." The narrative shifts to New York society, where young gentleman Elbert Van Tromp wagers five thousand dollars that within three months he can win the affections of Bel Amein, a celebrated Arabian dancer performing at the Academy opera house. After making this bet with friend Livingston, Van Tromp is mysteriously accosted by a feminine-faced man in dark business dress who warns him the wager is rash and predetermined to fail. Van Tromp's appearance and the mysterious stranger's cryptic interference suggest deeper complications ahead in this crime-and-society narrative.