Beadle's Dime Library No. 490: 'The Lone Hand in Texas'

About this issue

The Red-Gloved Raiders of the Rio Grande: A Tale of Wild Life on the Southwestern Border, by Albert W. Aiken, serialized in Beadle's Dime Novels, Vol. XXXVI, March 14, 1888. Six masked outlaws wearing distinctive red gloves—calling themselves the Brothers of the Red Hand—ride toward the settlement of Pedroville on the Rio Grande. Their leader, Captain Vermilion, briefs his men on their target: Pete Raymond (nicknamed "Soapy Pete"), a wealthy moneylender and usurer who operates a general store as cover. Raymond has accumulated roughly one hundred thousand dollars over five years and remains unguarded because the region has previously escaped bandit activity. The gang approaches Raymond's isolated one-story house and, after positioning a lookout, breaks through the rear door. Raymond awakens calmly and shows remarkable composure when confronted with revolvers. The bandit chief identifies his group as "tax-gatherers" and demands payment. Rather than resist, Raymond requests a private conversation with the leader, arousing some suspicion but ultimately granted.